Posts Categorized: Municipal Broadband News

Municipal Broadband Networks Are Not a Threat to the First Amendment

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The constitution over a flag with a gavel on top of it.

Last week, Motherboard published an article denouncing a speech made by FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, at this year’s “Free Speech America Gala” held by the Media Institute. In this speech, O’Rielly outwardly attacked municipal owned networks for impinging upon users first amendment rights. The commissioner’s exact words were “In addition to creating competitive distortions and misdirecting scarce resources that should go to bringing broadband to the truly unserved areas, municipal broadband networks have engaged in… Read more »

A Planner’s Role in Municipal Broadband

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OTELCO's sponsor table was covered in information about municipal broadband.

Last week was the Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association’s 2018 conference. NNECAPA met at Point Look Out in Northport, ME to discuss a myriad of issues centered on this year’s theme, “Defining Resiliency for Northern New England.” OTELCO was proud to be a presenter and sponsor of this conference, weighing in on the importance of municipal broadband, and how planners can help bring fiber to the premise to their communities. Maine… Read more »

Broadband Discussions Across Maine

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Bar Harbor ME in the fall

2018 is shaping up to be a big year for the ConnectME Authority, and their mission to equip Maine with reliable broadband infrastructure. For those who don’t know, ConnectME is a government agency whose mission is to “facilitate the universal availability of broadband to all Maine households and businesses and help them understand the valuable role it can play in enriching their lives and helping their communities thrive.” Already this year ConnectME has Redefined their… Read more »

Re-defining Broadband in Maine
What’s your opinion?

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Cape Neddick lighthouse, the Nubble light, stands watch over a wintry landscape on a January morning.

If you’re reading this post, you are an Internet consumer, or you may be an entrepreneur who depends on the internet to conduct business; whatever your broadband needs are, your opinion about Internet speed may help shape the future of broadband in Maine. What Defines Broadband? When cable companies began to provide Internet access to consumers, the service was faster than traditional DSL and dial-up, and the industry coined the term to mean high-speed Internet… Read more »

Microsoft and TV White Space for Rural Broadband Delivery

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Microsoft

Since Microsoft made its announcement about its Rural Airband Initiative to employ TV White Space (TVWS) to deliver rural broadband, discussions in the industry have been, to say the least, robust. Rural providers across America are struggling to deliver broadband to residents in low density areas, so this news from Microsoft has piqued a lot of interest and some skepticism. Basically, TVWS is a relatively low frequency, below 700 MHz, area of the television spectrum… Read more »