[1st-mile-nm] New NTIA BTOP Map Web Site

Wed Jun 20 09:45:34 PDT 2012

Holy cow, thanks!  I do remember it being mentioned that city regulators
can create serious barriers, often through simple ignorance but also via
self interest.

I realize (now, thanks RL!) this is list with members world wide, not just
NM, but I'm floored by this un-acceptable city government behavior.  I'm
also, like many others, desperate for a solution!  I hope that the rest of
us are better off!

Thanks again,

   -- Owen

On Wed, Jun 20, 2012 at 6:17 AM, John Brown <john at citylinkfiber.com> wrote:

> Hi Owen,
>
> For there to be a positive affect on getting fiber to your home in Santa
> Fe, your elected officials will need to remove the current regulatory
> barriers and costs they recently imposed on companies that wish to deploy
> such services in your City.
>
> 2 years ago YOUR City Government passed a new franchise ordinance that
> creates costs of  $5000++ PER HOME to connect fiber to your home.
> Much of that $5000 goes directly to the City in the form of FEE'S.
>
> Based on current market prices, it would take a over 10 years to recover
> the investment to connect the home. That doesn't compute financially
>
> Companies that normally compete with Qwest (DSL) stood side by side in
> agreement with Qwest, the NM PRC, the AG's office and others urging the
> City to NOT pass the new rules as then written.
>
> Late that night The City Council still passed the rules.
>
> The only company NOT listed was Comcast.  They are NOT impacted by the
> rules.
>
> So Your City created an unfair competitive environment in which Qwest, AND
> ANYONE ELSE, that wishes to deploy such technologies has a HIGHER COST to
> do so, EXCEPT Comcast.  So COMCAST has a lower deployment cost compared to
> anyone else.
>
> Your City Council was advised that should it pass the new rules it would
> likely be litigated.
>
> Over the past two years, YOUR CITY has spent tens if not hundreds of
> thousands of dollars defending the new rules in Federal Court.
> WASTING YOUR TAX DOLLARS ON LITIGATION, when all it really needed to do is
> make a few changes to the rules to reduce the money grab they appear to be
> attempting to do.
>
> Yes, we can all sit here and bash Qwest as being "evil".   In this case
> they are NOT.
>
> Actually the US is 38th world wide, according to Speedtest.net
>
> Here is what a RESIDENTIAL user gets in downtown ALBUQUERQUE. It costs
> them $70 a month
>
> http://www.speedtest.net/result/1939951262.png
>
> Santa Fe, City Different, City Slow (TM)
>
>
>
> From: Owen Densmore <owen at backspaces.net>
> Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2012 09:44:52 -0600
> To: Richard Lowenberg <rl at 1st-mile.com>
> Cc: "1st-mile-nm at mailman.dcn.org" <1st-mile-nm at mailman.dcn.org>
> Subject: Re: [1st-mile-nm] New NTIA BTOP Map Web Site
>
> I'm not too swift at understanding gvt program announcements .. so a few
> questions:
> - Will this have a positive effect on home broadband in Santa Fe?
> - Will it allow local ISPs (cybermesa for example) to buy broadband for
> providing faster internet access for their customers?
> - As I understand it, home broadband in Santa Fe is mainly DSL (phone
> lines) and cable (TV), with satellite down, dialup up as an alternative for
> very isolated sites.  Will this present new home alternatives like fiber
> (FiOS say)?
>
> I ask because home broadband in the US is now around 20th world-wide and
> wondered if this would improve my horrid situation (DSL 1.5 down, .7 up).
>  Often these improvements are for institutions (universities, research,
> businesses ...) and not for local ISPs for providing broadband to their
> customers.
>
> Cybermesa, btw, is exploring fast, modern (much better antenna design)
> wifi broadband service.  I believe it is currently point-to-point rather
> than mesh but is an interesting alternative to cable/DSL and might benefit
> from this broadband initiative if it would provide them good land-line
> access for their wireless network.
>
>    -- Owen
>
> On Mon, Jun 18, 2012 at 4:25 PM, Richard Lowenberg <rl at 1st-mile.com>wrote:
>
>> http://blogs.sos.wa.gov/**library/index.php/2012/06/**
>> broadband-ntia-releases-a-new-**btop-resource/<http://blogs.sos.wa.gov/library/index.php/2012/06/broadband-ntia-releases-a-new-btop-resource/>
>>
>> Broadband – NTIA Releases A New BTOP Resource
>>
>> June 13th, 2012 by Jeff Martin Posted in For Libraries, For the Public,
>> Technology and Resources, Updates | No Comments »
>>
>> A new BTOP resource has been released. BTOP’s Connecting America’s
>> Communities Map located at http://www2.ntia.doc.gov/**BTOPmap/<http://www2.ntia.doc.gov/BTOPmap/> is now available as a beta application. This resource provides a map which
>> gives a visual depiction of BTOP grant recipient activities within each
>> state. View the national map, select a state from the drop-down list, or
>> enter a zip code and select search. Filter information by connection speed,
>> by the type of institution to be served, or by the type of award. Overlay
>> congressional district boundaries or add a population density gradient
>> overlay to the map. Or toggle all filters on and off using the “Select All
>> Filters” bar.
>>
>> When first entering the site and viewing the information at a national
>> level note the arrow tabs on either side of the map. Toggle between speed,
>> institution type and award type using the arrows. Or let the maps advance
>> from one to the next based on timing provided by the site.
>>
>> This beta application also includes a State Dashboard for viewing planned
>> activities and for noting the progress made within a state based on the
>> last submitted annual report. Users can view award information for a
>> selected state and also download summary information on the BTOP awards.
>> When viewing awards for a selected state such as Washington State, the user
>> is taken to another BroadbandUSA page, in this case
>> http://www2.ntia.doc.gov/**washington<http://www2.ntia.doc.gov/washington>
>> .
>>
>> >From the website, “The content presented in BTOP’s Connecting America’s
>> Communities Map includes data provided by grant recipients, which was
>> submitted during the annual and quarterly report process and is available
>> on the BTOP website. The Map is updated annually and therefore, does not
>> reflect current project status. The Map also contains certain information
>> about planned project progress, and such information is subject to change.
>> It does not include data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
>> Rural Utilities Service’s (RUS) Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP),
>> although a list of BIP-funded projects is available on the State
>> Dashboard.” Even though the data is quickly dated once current report
>> information has been posted, the site provides an interesting overview of
>> planned work associated with all of the NTIA awards for a state.
>>
>> A two page fact sheet on BTOP’s Connecting America’s Comunities Map is
>> available at http://www2.ntia.doc.gov/**BTOPmap/data/btop-map-fact-**
>> sheet.pdf <http://www2.ntia.doc.gov/BTOPmap/data/btop-map-fact-sheet.pdf>.
>>
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------**--
>> Richard Lowenberg
>> 1st-Mile Institute
>> Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
>> 505-989-9110 / 505-603-5200
>> www.1st-mile.com   rl at 1st-mile.com
>> ------------------------------**--
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