Battlin’ for Community Broadband from DC to NC and Beyond

Last week was pretty intense. Two cross-country trips that reflect the hope and the frustration of fighting for better broadband.

In Washington, DC on Monday enduring the frustration of rolling that “public good” boulder once again up the hill of opposition made steep by the influence of corporate interests. In Salisbury, NC on Friday to lay down a message of hope for a community that faces the constant threat of Time Warner-driven anti-muni network legislation.

You can catch my debate with Blair Levin on YouTube. Occasionally you get the impression here’s someone for whom pride of authorship has given them an air of superiority, that there is only one true way to solve our problems, even while acknowledging the plan is not perfect. If not superiority, then definitely a license to be overbearing in demeanor.

Hey, Your National Broadband Map’s Here.

I listened to NTIA’s press briefing on the national broadband map (NBM) and when it was over, I posed the question on Twitter: What do we have?

We have 1) An expensive map, though mercifully under budget. 2) A data intensive map (I’m seriously awed by the breadth of it). 3) A nice tool for creating all kinds of reports that will have varying levels of value. 4) Ample signs that people worked hard on this, delivered on time and deserve a vacation.

I should state that I haven’t looked at the actual map except to try to find details on where I live, and to look at the rankings of states based on the percentage of populations that have 1 gigabit service. Slow speeds and browser freeze kinda dampers things.

Anywho, the real question everyone should be asking is, what do we have relative to the main mission of this mapping exercise? Is this end product worth $200 million in the overall scheme of improving broadband in America through better policy and financial decision making?