Democracy dies in the dark

telecompetitor.com/washington-bil… ... Newsflash! Monopolists whine about not having monopolies! Requiring open-access for public grants is good policy that serves the interests of subscribers.

eff.org/deeplinks/2023…

In my 1st article for the American Association for Public Broadband, I talk about Bountiful City UT, where the City Council voted unanimously to contract with UTOPIA Fiber to build a city-wide fiber broadband network. At the last minute, a dark money group is trying to kill it.

The inside strategy has turned into a dead end, so "Let's get the band back together" and make this happen! youtu.be/LLFjyYswSqI?t=5

Big monopoly ISPs have been telling “misinformation” about community owned broadband for years. Community ownership bring competition, higher quality at a lower price. Probably why they don’t like it. ⁦AAPB (American Association for Public Broadband)⁩ bbcmag.com/breaking-news/…

The inevitable march towards community-owned broadband grew enormously in 2023, documented by Christopher Mitchell, Sean Gonsalves & Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Of course, the attacks on local choice grew too. 2024 will be a fun year for friends of public broadband! communitynets.org/content/new-mu… #ownyourfuture

When 83% of your constituents and your local newspaper oppose your proposed bill to make the local utility sell its broadband network, perhaps it's time to move on to something else, Gex "jay" Williams for Kentucky State Senate state-journal.com/opinion/editor…

theverge.com/2024/10/23/242…

Why is the UK kicking our butt? Because they adopted pro-competitive telecom policies that the US abandoned in 2002.

Public broadband advocate and community organizer Jennifer Redman met with staff in Congresswoman Maxine Dexter's office to discuss Community Broadband PDX's work to create a public broadband infrastructure option for all Portlanders. Nothing like an AAPB Hill Day! 🏛️ #CommunityFirst25

What would internet access look like if it wasn't controlled by megacorps, but by YOU. Publicly-owned infrastructure isn't new and it doesn't have to stay a dream in Portland. Come out and chat with other people fed up with the status quo: cbbpdx.civicrm.org/civicrm/event/…

Community Broadband PDX is having another in-person meetup tomorrow evening at the Holgate Branch library, starting at about 5pm: calagator.org/events/1250482…

"We have the power to make access to our city owned fiber optic network available to everyone. Let’s break the private ISP monopoly power here in Portland!"