CTC will begin work with the City of Portland, OR to prepare a long-term fiber strategic and business plan that will evaluate the City’s current and future demand for broadband. CTC’s engineers and analysts will engage key City stakeholders from a range of public and private industries, and assess current infrastructure to evaluate the City’s broadband needs. Our team will work with City leadership to form a strategic plan, and to develop a dark fiber business model and sustainable business plan. Our analysis will include recommendations for FirstNet planning, enabling private-sector investment, and developing a cooperative governance structure to benefit all I-Net stakeholders.

The City of Hayward, CA has selected CTC to develop a high-level fiber optic network master plan to guide the City’s broadband efforts. CTC’s engineers will inventory the City’s existing systems and service availability, prepare conceptual fiber routes, and project associated costs. Our analysts will identify the City’s broadband needs, and consider a range of business and operational models that might support the City’s next steps for broadband implementation.

The City of Pharr, TX has selected CTC Technology & Energy to prepare a broadband strategic plan. Following a work-shop with the City and its key stakeholders to establish a strategic direction, CTC’s engineers and analysts will assess the City’s current broadband infrastructure and market, and evaluate current and future demand for broadband in Pharr. Our E-rate specialists will work with the City to develop a strategic approach to potential funding opportunities through the Schools and Libraries Program, and our analysts will evaluate other potential federal and regional funding mechanisms. The strategic plan will include engineering analysis and cost estimation for network implementation, and we will guide the City’s engagement with the private sector for potential partnership for network expansion.

CTC is proud to join other private companies and trade associations in opposing Colorado Senate Bill 136, which was delivered today to the members of the Colorado Senate’s State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.

The letter urges the legislators to reject the anti-competition legislation, which makes far more difficult local efforts to partner with the private sector to enable new broadband opportunities.

The letter notes that the proposed bill “would harm both the public and private sectors, retard economic growth, prevent the creation or retention of jobs around the State, particularly in rural areas, hamper work force development, and diminish the quality of life in Colorado.”

View the full letter HERE.

All of us at CTC extend our congratulations to our friends at the City and County of San Francisco on today’s announcement that Google Fiber will provide gigabit services to many consumers in San Francisco.

The City has worked tirelessly for over a decade to expand the availability of fiber-based services to both residences and businesses, and today’s announcement is a testament to those efforts to demonstrate the importance of the broadband speeds enabled by fiber optics — as well as a testament to the City’s efforts to attract private sector competition in broadband.

CTC is proud to have advised the City over more than a decade regarding expansion of its own fiber network, fiber optic dig once policies, and trends in the broadband market.

The Benton Foundation has released a report prepared by the Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC), authored by CTC in conjunction with communications law firm Baller Herbst Stokes & Lide. The two-part report, The Emerging World of Broadband Public–Private Partnerships: A Business Strategy and Legal Guide, examines the balance of risk, benefit, and control in three business models for broadband public–private partnerships.

Last week, CTC joined a select group of companies and associations submitting a letter to the Missouri legislature that urges rejection of a bill that would limit local Internet choice, preclude municipal innovation in broadband, and limit private competition and investment through partnerships with localities.

CTC proudly joined the letter, along with the Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC), NATOA, Next Century Cities, Netflix, Google, the Internet Association, the Fiber to the Home Council, and many others. We strongly urge the Missouri legislature to enable – rather than prevent — its localities to build and enable the broadband infrastructure that is so essential to the national and local interest.

The letter is here.

The CLIC blog is here.

The City of Bloomington, IN has selected CTC Technology & Energy to support the City’s efforts to develop ubiquitous, Gigabit-class broadband in Bloomington. We will collaborate with City staff and other stakeholders to facilitate a one-day public symposium and related communications materials on the value of next-generation infrastructure. This effort will supplement our analysis of the local broadband market, and foster engagement with a range of public and private stakeholders. CTC’s analysts and engineers will also assess the City’s existing assets, prepare a competitive assessment of broadband services, benchmark the City’s broadband availability, and develop high-level engineering and cost estimates. Additionally, our team will develop and administer a request for information to gauge public-sector interest in partnering with the City to achieve its broadband goals.

The City of Boulder, Colorado has released a request for information (RFI) to identify potential for-profit and non-profit entities interested in partnering with the City to develop a citywide fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network. The City seeks to enhance the broadband connectivity of its residents, businesses, and anchor institutions by expanding the range and quality of available broadband and data transport services.

The RFI can be viewed here. Parties interested in responding to the RFI should access it through the City’s official bid posting system, the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System (RMEPS).

CTC is proud to announce that our President, Joanne Hovis, has been appointed to the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council Board of Directors. “Joanne is a recognized authority on the broadband market and communities regularly turn to her for her expertise on the evolving role of government and public utilities in the development of communications services and networks.” said J. Michael Hill, Chairman of the 2016 FTTH Council Board of Directors, “We are pleased to welcome her to the board.”

An attorney with a background in communications and commercial litigation, Ms. Hovis advises public and nonprofit clients regarding strategic and business considerations for building community broadband networks, and provides guidance on funding opportunities including E-rate and other federal programs. She is also an authority on emerging public–private partnership models.

In addition to her role as President of CTC Technology & Energy, Ms. Hovis is the CEO of the Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC), former President of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA), and she serves on the Boards of Directors for OneCommunity and the Benton Foundation.

Read the FTTH Council’s announcement HERE.