Strip mall or industrial park, broadband drives commercial property values

Even the smallest businesses want fast, reliable and competitively priced broadband now. My barber has 100 Mbps service in his one-man shop so he can run an online business on the side. Dollar stores couldn’t exist without access to a global market for surplus merchandise. Those are just two neighborhood strip mall examples. Every sector of the economy depends on broadband to maintain fast, real time connections to customers, suppliers, partners and data centers.

Broadband access distinguishes one commercial or industrial area from another.… More

Industrial, commercial Star Ratings produce broadband development roadmap

Broadband infrastructure analysis has two primary goals: 1. figure out what’s available now and whether it meets needs, and 2. identify and evaluate options for further development. Last year, Tellus Venture Associates created the Star Rating tool to assess broadband infrastructure in industrial and commercial areas.

It takes into account available service and existing infrastructure, and compares it to a range of benchmarks, including commodity business-level broadband, enhanced “megabit” and “gigabit” class service, and dark fiber.… More

Comcast sucker punches business park startups

24 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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Ars Technica enterprised a fascinating story that perfectly illustrates the problem new businesses face when looking for commercial and industrial-grade broadband connectivity. Cable companies – in this case it’s Comcast – advertise blanket availability of their highest service tiers, sign up customers to long term contracts, and then don’t deliver because their plant doesn’t reach the location. Or they dither for a few weeks or months, and then come back with a demand for tens of thousands of dollars in installation fees.… More

Where consumer broadband leads, business follows


Newark, California rates a solid “C” for residential broadband but drops to a red “D” or grey “f” in the working districts of the city.

There are two worlds of commercial and industrial grade broadband: the specialized business broadband companies and the major incumbent carriers. Analysis of commercial broadband availability in California’s East Bay region shows that many specialized providers want to compete, but can be limited in the scope of their services by basic infrastructure provided by the big guys.… More

EDA opens new source for broadband funding with $2 million for San Leandro conduit

The City of San Leandro will fill in key gaps in broadband availability in industrial and commercial areas, thanks to a $2.1 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The press release is here.

As far as we can tell, this award is the first ever given by EDA for a community broadband project, with credit largely due to the City’s economic and business development staff. They worked closely with the EDA to develop the innovative framework required and to meet the stringent requirements of the program.

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Industrial and commercial broadband action plan, strategy adopted by San Leandro City Council

Seven action plan recommendations and an overall commercial broadband strategy were unanimously adopted last night by the San Leandro City Council. The goal is to bring new jobs, businesses and shoppers into the City’s industrial and commercial areas by developing better broadband infrastructure and availability, and encouraging companies and consumers to take advantage of it.

The strategic vision and specific recommendations were developed by Tellus Venture Associates, working closely with City staff.

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San Leandro beats Google's Kansas City broadband speeds

Press release from the City of San Leandro:

San Leandro, Not Google, Is Writing The Next Chapter Of The Internet


Source: Lit San Leandro
“As Google attempts to grab the headlines with its announcement tomorrow of a fiber initiative for Kansas City that will offer users connection speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, Mayor Stephen Cassidy of San Leandro announced that San Leandro is staking its claim as the fastest city in the nation.
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San Leandro joins elite group of dark fiber cities


Source: Lit San Leandro

Lit San Leandro is putting fiber in the ground. A launch party attracted about a hundred out-of-town development prospects and local business people who heard about the project’s big picture benefits and the specific real estate opportunities it creates. The Hayward Daily Review and San Leandro Patch have good articles on the event. Patrick Kennedy’s Lit San Leandro blog also has good updates and pictures.
Speakers at the event included Sean Tario, the CEO of Open Spectrum Inc.
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