public policy

CPUC approves broadband testing, mapping money

23 September 2013 by Steve Blum
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Good for another year.

The California Public Utilities Commission waved through next year’s budget for the California Advanced Services Fund, voting unanimous approval at last week’s meeting.

The plan includes a steep jump in administrative costs, without giving much detail on the reason for the increase. The CPUC’s division of ratepayer advocates asked for more transparency after the first draft of the budget resolution was released. There wasn’t much more detail about overhead costs in the approved version, though.… More

Policy initiatives maximise benefit of broadband trends


Progressive broadband policy rates an A, nimbys fail.

I was one of the speakers at this week’s Eastern Sierra Connect Regional Broadband Consortium annual forum in Bishop, California. My presentation built on a talk I gave earlier this year at the Urban Land Institute’s spring meeting in San Diego.

Then, I spoke about five broadband trends that are shaping communities: the growing value of conduit, the growth of competition at the local level, the role of local government in building middle mile facilities, the coming explosion in wireless capacity and the way broadband access is changing life and work styles.… More

Savoring victory at eastern Sierra broadband meeting

20 September 2013 by Steve Blum
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Looking forward in Bishop.

What a difference a year makes. The Eastern Sierra Connect Regional Broadband Consortium held its annual meeting in Bishop, California on Thursday. Like last year’s forum, the conversation was dominated by Digital 395, a middle mile fiber optic network that runs the length of the region – Mono, Inyo and eastern Kern counties – and connects to major transcontinental routes in Reno and Barstow.

But it was a much different conversation.… More

Suddenlink makes aggressive move with Digital 395 bandwidth


Suddenlink takes the Digital 395 pole position.

No longer constrained by severely limited backhaul capacity, Suddenlink has cranked up Internet speeds for its customers in Mammoth Lakes and is planning to do the same in the other eastern California communities it serves. Customers with service plans that delivered 1.5 to 3 Mbps are now getting 15 Mbps at no extra cost, and can upgrade to a 30 Mbps tier if they want. That’s according to Jason Oelkers, Suddenlink’s California system manager, speaking today at the Eastern Sierra Connect Regional Broadband Consortium annual forum in Bishop, which sits astride the route.… More

Watsonville moving ahead with city fiber project to replace Charter service

18 September 2013 by Steve Blum
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New conduit is in blue, existing conduit in red, existing fiber in green.

The Watsonville, California city council voted last week to ask for bids to build a fiber optic backbone network that will connect public facilities from one end of the city to another.

The first phase of the project, which is now out to bid, involves installing a total of about one mile of conduit that will link up to another three miles or so of existing conduit and fiber lines, creating a continuous path.… More

Crowdsourced data included in new version of California broadband map

17 September 2013 by Steve Blum
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Before you can connect the dots, you have to find them.

Data submitted by the public is now integrated into the interactive California broadband availability map, which is published by the California Public Utilities Commission.

The map has been evolving for the past five years, starting out as a set of static graphic files. With the help of funding from the 2009 federal broadband stimulus program (which is nearly gone), it migrated to an interactive online platform developed by Chico State University.… More

AT&T says don't worry, it's just progressive education

16 September 2013 by Steve Blum
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It only gets worse from here.

The first violation letters under the Copyright Alert System have been sent out by AT&T, according to a post on the TorrentFreak blog. That’s apparently the first of the six strikes allowed under the program, which has been adopted by major telephone and cable companies, in collaboration with music and movie companies, to fight piracy.

You get strike each time a major ISP receives a complaint about you downloading pirated videos or music.… More

CPUC hints at new middle mile policy for subsidised broadband projects

15 September 2013 by Steve Blum
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Section of coastal fiber route claimed by both KRRBI and NCC.

The Karuk and Yurok tribes on California’s far northern coast are asking for $6.6 million from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to build an 82 mile fiber backbone to an existing Internet hub and then build out last mile wireless connections to 814 homes and businesses scattered across rugged inland terrain. A draft resolution released on Friday by California Public Utilities Commission staff recommends approving the money, which represents just over half of the total cost of the project.… More

Major Kern County broadband project prepped for CPUC vote

13 September 2013 by Steve Blum
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The Tehachapi Pass of the future will have broadband too. And probably a lot sooner.

Race Telecommunications proposed building a fiber-to-the-home system near the Tehachapi Pass in an application for a California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) grant earlier this year. Now, it’s been vetted by California Public Utilities Commission staff, and it’s heading for a vote by commissioners at their 17 October 2013 meeting.

A draft resolution released yesterday explained why the Kern County High Desert project, intended for the communities of Stallion Springs, Bear Valley Springs and Golden Hills, got the green light for 12.6 million from CASF…

Staff recommends this project for funding, because it has an above average overall score relative to the other projects.

… More

California legislature adds $90 million to broadband subsidy fund

12 September 2013 by Steve Blum
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What will Jerry do? No, the other one.

The California legislature approved senate bill 740 yesterday, adding $90 million to the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) and widening, a bit, the list of broadband providers who can apply for construction subsidies.

The state assembly gave its blessing on a 59 to 16 vote, and sent it over to the senate, where it was approved 34 to 3. The bill now goes to Governor Brown for his approval, or not.… More