LA City Fiber, Request For Proposals (RFP)

Late last year, in November 2013, LA City Council officially requested that the Information Technology Administration (ITA) department issue a Request For Proposals (RFP) for an open access fiber network installation, along with the provision of free low bandwidth wireless Continue reading LA City Fiber, Request For Proposals (RFP)→

Should we change our name?

I personally apologize for not keeping this site up to date. A lot has been going on in my work and personal life that has kept me away. I was recently happy to see more people have filled out our Continue reading Should we change our name?→

An open letter to Level3: Put up or shut up!

To Level3 Communications: Congratulations on becoming the new Content Distribution Network (CDN) provider of choice for Netflix! Netflix provides a valuable and convenient online video delivery service that we all enjoy. Unfortunately, cable companies (like Comcast) all have a vested interest Continue reading An open letter to Level3: Put up or shut up!→

Connecting Local Institutions

The FCC’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) is here, and it’s a big disappointment. While adding to the body of evidence that Internet access competition is poor to nonexistent in America, they still manage to praise do-nothing incumbents for offering any Continue reading Connecting Local Institutions→

The Economics of Sharing

I. The benefits of sharing. On the Internet, sharing is a solved problem. The Tier-1 backbone providers all save time and money for their international bandwidth via “peering agreements” — contracts that say network traffic will be freely exchanged between Continue reading The Economics of Sharing→

Of course people care about Internet access.

Ars Technica posted an article today entitled “The poor don’t care about broadband? Of course they do.” The article references a recent study published by the Social Science Research Council. The study partially refutes some findings made in earlier studies by the the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Pew’s Internet & American Life Project, which suggested that two thirds of those Americans that’s don’t have broadband now don’t want it, and about a third of US residents never use the Internet. Continue reading Of course people care about Internet access.→