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

Wed Jun 20 09:53:42 PDT 2012

Franchise agreements are strong contributor for instituting services for
entities otherwise unfunded like Schools/Libraries/hospitals/fire
Station/Public buildings.etc.  This traditional franchising is how schools
got a cable for schools without squandering other budgets.  Comcast is not
impacted because they are already under a cable franchise which is allowed
to be franchised by the FCC.  Information services are still in flux.  If
Santa Fe loses, the impact will be felt down the road by local residents
having to increase local budgets for Internet services.  I am not defending
Santa Fe, but there is a larger back drop to franchising. 

Brian Tagaban, Executive Director

Navajo Nation Telecommunications Regulatory Commission

PO box 7440

Window Rock, AZ 86515

Office Phone:  (928)871-7854    Email: BTagaban at nntrc.org

From: 1st-mile-nm-bounces+btagaban=nntrc.org at mailman.dcn.org
[mailto:1st-mile-nm-bounces+btagaban=nntrc.org at mailman.dcn.org] On Behalf Of
Owen Densmore
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 10:46 AM
To: John Brown
Cc: Richard Lowenberg; 1st-mile-nm at mailman.dcn.org
Subject: Re: [1st-mile-nm] New NTIA BTOP Map Web Site

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/

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/  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.

>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 .

--------------------------------
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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