February 2018 – Next Century Cities

Route Fifty — The FCC Could Help Make Good Local Broadband Models Great

Santa Cruz County, California has spent the last five years removing policy barriers to local broadband deployment. Located 30 miles south of Silicon Valley, the second smallest county in the state has a population of around 250,000 across its coastal and rural areas. In 2013, Santa Cruz County approached internet service providers and asked them […]

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Next Century Cities Hosts Congressional Briefing on Importance of Local Voices in Broadband Decisions

Blog Entry, News / nextcentury

Yesterday, Next Century Cities and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) hosted a Congressional briefing for members of the United States House of Representatives about the importance of local voices in broadband decision-making. The briefing featured a panel of local officials: Wade Troxell, Mayor, Fort Collins, Colorado; Robert Wack, City Council President, Westminster, Maryland; Jeremy

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The Anatomy of a Community Broadband Manager

Additional Resources, Blog Entry, Getting Started, News, Resources / nextcentury

Image courtesy of J. Guevara There isn’t one right way to bring broadband to your city. There is, however, a common element that appears in many city success stories: a staff member leading the effort. Having a staff member in a leadership role who is passionate and dedicated to connectivity in your city can

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Executive Director Deb Socia Offers Policy Recommendations in Op-Ed

Blog Entry, NCC News, News / nextcentury

Given the recent focus by the President, Congress, and the FCC on the importance of solving the rural broadband access divide, Next Century Cities’ Executive Director Deb Socia felt it was important to encourage action steps that could actually result in progress toward that goal. She included three key policy recommendations in a recent op-ed:

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Celebrating Lafayette’s Success

Blog Entry, News, Spotlight City / nextcentury

Lafayette, Louisiana’s city-owned fiber network, LUS Fiber, has a lot to celebrate. The city first proposed fiber as its fourth utility in 2004, and citizens voted 62% – 38% in 2005 to approve bond funding. Since then, Lafayette has overcome numerous significant legal hurdles, successfully building out the system to bring 100% fiber-optic access to

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The #MobileOnly Conversation

Blog Entry, News / nextcentury

Yesterday Next Century Cities wrapped up the #MobileOnly Challenge, an online campaign that drew attention to the significant limitations of mobile-only internet service. The challenge was formulated in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) proposal to both lower the federal broadband speed standard and to consider mobile service an adequate replacement for a fixed

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