At Broadband Communities’ 2019 economic development conference, held in October in Alexandria, Virginia, participants shared stories about how communities are improving broadband access to facilitate economic development, digital literacy and consumer choices. Following are some of the highlights of the conference sessions.

People in rural areas simply can’t rely on the same fiber-rich, centralized split model that works in more densely populated areas. Distributed tap architectures may offer a solution.

Broadband is essential to a community’s survival, but building out service to rural areas comes with financial challenges. Service providers have several options to help.

At the Broadband Communities economic development conference in October, FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks delivered a powerful call to make internet inequality across the United States a thing of the past. A data-driven review of what has and hasn’t worked over the past 10 years will help determine the path forward, he says.

As open FTTH networks emerge again in the United States, investors dedicate capital to community networks that will support an array of traditional internet, telehealth and building management services.

In Sweden, municipal broadband is the rule rather than the exception. That changes everything.

Ocala adds residential internet-only FTTH services to a multipurpose fiber network that will help it become a smart city.

With school connectivity goals accomplished, the program prepares to end, leaving new programs in place to make sure the classroom gap stays closed.

Every community shouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel.

Even in a gigabit world, it takes more than great internet speed to keep MDU residents happy.

Building flexibility into the budget, schedule and deployment plan can save the day when things go wrong.

Remembering Gene Crick, a visionary leader devoted to empowering people through broadband

Chesterfield leveraged changes in New Hampshire state laws that let communities issue public bonds to fund broadband networks. The town’s partnership with Consolidated Communications to build a townwide FTTH network could serve as a model for other communities.

Economic development professionals who completed the Revving the Community Broadband Economic Engine survey weighed in on the current availability, affordability and speed of broadband – and how communities are working to increase all three.

Service providers and communities should look for common ground with public infrastructure and investments to spur rural broadband buildouts.

The biggest challenge municipal networks face may be connecting to the public internet. Here’s a guide to overcoming that challenge.

Three approaches to community broadband networks

Building next-generation gigabit architecture and outstanding subscriber experience into today’s networks is a sound investment.

As electric utilities consider fiber network plays, well-thought-out designs will be key to their success. Here’s how Huntsville Utilities used value engineering to control fiber network construction costs and hone its plan.

When you can’t fund a communitywide network, your best strategy may be funding today’s best-served areas.

The technology challenge for a rural community is closing the gap between the digital infrastructure that is profitable for commercial providers but serves only part of the community and the infrastructure necessary to serve all community members. Local leaders, driven by a clear, aspirational vision of their community’s future, can proactively address this gap.

Providing broadband locally – with help from electric utilities – can be a good way to anchor rural economies.

In communities throughout the United States, people of all political persuasions know their economic vitality and quality of life depend on access to robust broadband.

To deliver broadband cost-effectively, a community’s best option may be to partner with the incumbent telephone company.

To ensure their economic survival, communities must be active participants in broadband planning.

For rural communities struggling to connect to the internet, working together at any point in the process can yield benefits. 

Many community fiber networks now outsource service provision. Here are some guidelines for making such a relationship a success.

Highlights of the 2018 Broadband Communities Summit held in May in Austin, Texas

The Broadband Communities Summit brings together participants in the multifamily, rural, economic development, technology and policy worlds. This issue of the magazine has something for all of them.

San Francisco is considering two options for a citywide open-access network. Both are good, but one option offers significant advantages.

Citizens and local elected officials should be able to control their communities’ broadband destinies.

The traditional telecom model is not working. For a locality to succeed with a municipal broadband alternative, it can’t just duplicate the incumbent model.

What communities should do during the planning phase of a broadband project – and what they can save for later

Broadband Communities’ 2017 census of municipal and public-private fiber networks now shows 216 active projects – and many more in preliminary stages.

Three award winners illustrate different approaches to connecting the unconnected.

How should a small, agile fiber overbuilder decide where to expand next?

Communities should look at all options for improving their broadband access.

At the 2017 Broadband Communities Summit, held in Dallas in May, fiber deployers shared their experiences and vendors displayed their new technology.

In many rural areas, traditional operators have failed to invest in telecommunications infrastructure. Strategic investments by property owners, groups of owners, local associations and local governments can jump-start competition.

How to pay for the last mile, sustainably and at low risk

Until recently, most municipal fiber networks were built by existing municipal utilities. Experience with outside plant, billing and customer service gave them a head start toward providing broadband. But today, cities without utility departments are forging new paths to build and operate broadband networks.

Communities can finance fiber-to-the-home networks by applying the cost reductions that the networks make possible.

Broadband Communities’ latest modeling tool enables easy calculation of costs and benefits for network builds that use multiple technologies or will be completed in multiple phases.

Following are highlights from the 2016 Broadband Communities conference on broadband and economic development, held in Minneapolis in October. These excerpts are from sessions about gaining support from state legislators and the impacts of local fiber networks.