ccbc

FCC crowdsourcing mobile broadband measurements

20 December 2012 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Can y’all hear me now?

Via Jim Warner, U.C. Santa Cruz network engineer and chair of the Central Coast Broadband Consortium’s technical expert group: the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will ask the public to download an app and take mobile broadband coverage measurements…

The FCC and its contractor SamKnows will soon be announcing a program to collect crowd source data on mobile broadband performance. A program will trigger tests like iperf and ping and report the results along with handset and location information to a central database.

… More

Economic development top priority for Central Coast Broadband Consortium

“Broadband connectivity is the new deepwater seaport,” said Mary Ann Leffel, chair of the Central Coast Broadband Consortium’s (CCBC) economic development expert group and president of the Monterey County Business Council (MCBC). But it’s more than just a visit by a cruise ship. It’s about attracting and keeping businesses and creating jobs.

Economic development is the primary goal of the CCBC, explained Nancy Martin, CCBC executive team member and executive director of MCBC as she opened the discussion at the CCBC’s Get Connected conference she organized in Seaside on 6 December 2012.… More

Mobile carriers' broadband coverage claims challenged by ISPs

Availability maps submitted by mobile telephone carriers are a problem for local Internet companies trying to expand and improve broadband service in California’s central coast region.

Representatives from six Internet service providers – Central Coast Internet, Charter, Cruzio, Razzolink, Redshift and Surfnet – participated in a workshop yesterday organized by the Central Coast Broadband Consortium (CCBC). A number of concerns were discussed, including construction permits, funding, and coordination with other utility and local government projects.… More

Consensus on broadband priorities, solutions emerges from CCBC conference

A series of workshops organized by the Central Coast Broadband Consortium drew about three dozen representatives from Internet service providers, local governments, economic development agencies and other companies and organizations interested in improving broadband access and infrastructure.

The first workshop brought together public works, planning and information technology managers from Salinas, Gonzales, Santa Cruz, Seaside, Watsonville, and Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties. They reviewed the CCBC’s policy development and infrastructure inventory projects, and discussed how to make it easier to anticipate and meet future broadband needs.… More

$13 million CASF grant request for FTTP in Mojave and Boron

Mobile broadband availability in the Mojave-Boron area, as reported by carriers to the CPUC.Another proposal for project funding from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) surfaced over the weekend. Race Telecommunications is proposing to offer fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) service to homes and businesses in the high desert towns of Mojave and Boron, and some surrounding areas.

They’re asking CASF for $6,229,864 for the Mojave segment of the project and $6,780,528 for the Boron piece. The segments are really two halves of the same project, but CASF procedures require separate applications for segments that are not in contiguous areas.

… More

Satellite, DSL projects seek "unserved area" subsidies from CASF

Two DSL extensions and one satellite project are asking for a total of $651,622 in grant funding from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF). The two DSL extensions, proposed by WillitsOnline LLC and its subsidiary company, Rural Broadband Now! LLC, would bring ADSL2+ to homes in the Westport and Boonville areas of Mendocino County. The proposals request $161,500 and $128,000 respectively. Satellite Internet provider ViaSat, Inc. is asking for $362,122 to reach about 700 homes in rural pockets of Monterey County.

… More

49 California counties chasing broadband gold

15 February 2012 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

The California Public Utilities Commission approved funding for seven more regional broadband consortia this morning. That brings the total to fourteen consortia representing 49 counties.

All five of the commissioners voted in favor of the grants. In contrast to the first round of funding, this second round vote did not generate any debate. The criteria and conditions that the commission laid out in December 2011 were deemed satisfied.
In line with the goals established by the CPUC, the consortia are focused on building and deploying broadband facilities in unserved and underserved areas of California, improving access to and knowledge of the broadband resources that are already available to Californians, and promoting greater adoption of broadband services.
… More

CPUC on track for broadband consortia funding approval

15 February 2012 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

It’s not over until it’s over, but it looks like everything is set for seven more regional broadband consortia to be approved by the California Public Utilities Commission in the morning.

The funding resolution is a consent item, number 11 on the Commission’s agenda. As of close of business today, no one has asked to hold it for a later meeting or move it off of the consent agenda. No revisions have been posted since last Friday, 10 February 2012.… More

Seven more California regional broadband consortia up for funding

5 February 2012 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) staff are recommending approval of the remaining seven regional broadband consortia grant requests. The full commission is set to vote on the recommendation at its 16 February 2012 meeting.

In December, the commission funded the first seven of the fifteen applications it received and rejected another that did not meet minimum application requirements. The remaining seven consortia were provisionally endorsed, but told to work with CPUC staff to further develop their proposals, particularly where definitions of deliverables were concerned.… More

Ready for the CPUC vote on regional broadband consortia this morning

1 December 2011 by Steve Blum
, , ,
The meeting starts at 9:00 a.m. The two consortia resolutions come up later in the agenda, item 47. As of last night, the item was still on the table, however once the meeting starts, it’s possible that a commissioner could ask that it be held over to a later meeting. There’s no particular reason to think that might happen, though.
I’ll post here as soon as I can after the vote. In the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter: SteveBlum.
… More