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It's been an exciting February for CBAN as we put the finishing touches on our 2024 Spring Summit and see continued membership growth! We've recently had four great, community-focused broadband providers join the CBAN family.  The Community Agency of O'Brien County (TCA) is a joint action agency co-owned by 4 towns in northwest Iowa - Hartley, Sanborn, Paullina, and Primghar. In the early 2000's, these communities joined forces to build broadband in their communities and created TCA to serve as the operating entitity. TCA continues to play a large role in bringing better broadband to the area, including building fiber in rural areas.  Lockridge Networks is a real homegrown success story! Lockridge operates a robust fixed wireless broadband network in portions of southern Iowa and northern Missouri. Lockridge started when parent company Lockridge, Inc. were experiencing challenges with poor internet speed and service. So they connected their four lumberyards with fixed wireless internet, slowly expanding to their employees and eventually residents in the communities they serve. Lockridge has leveraged Iowa Broadband Grants to expand their coverage and begin building fiber networks in some areas.  Long Lines Broadband, based in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa has a long history of community-focused broadband service in northwest Iowa. Long Lines was also a key player in providing assistant to numerous municipal broadband networks as they were established in the 1990's and early 2000;s.  Western Iowa Networks is one of the most progressive and community focused providers in Iowa. From humble roots as Breda Telephone Company providing landline phone in the western Iowa town of 500 beginning in 1905, WIN is now wone of the largest independent telephone and broadband companies in Iowa. They continue to grow and play a vital role in bringing better broadband to underserved areas in western Iowa. We are excited to have each of these great providers as part of the CBAN network!
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In an open letter to the FCC, a number of broadband advocate groups have posed an interesting question: would a brief amnesty period for recipients of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) or Connect America Fund II (CAF II) to walk-away from projects they haven't completed help make those areas eligible for upcoming BEAD funding? Under rules of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, areas that received grants under CAF II or RDOF are not eligible to receive BEAD funding. The problem is that because those other programs offered meager support mechanisms for high-cost areas, many of those projects are likely to not get built. In a letter addressed to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, a large number of groups are appealing to the FCC to take action so that areas that are likely to be left behind by CAF II or RDOF are opened for BEAD eligibility. "The undersigned ask that the FCC grant that request (including extending it to CAF II awardees) or otherwise provide a mechanism for relinquishment that ensures that thousands of communities across rural America are not disconnected from the benefits of reliable and affordable broadband Internet." - Letter to FCC dated 2/28/24 Among the organizations co-signing the letter to the FCC are:
 ImOn Communications, a CBAN provider member based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has announced its intentions to bring fiber services to the central Iowa community of Marshalltown. Hats off to ImOn for its most recent expansion and congratulations to the Marshalltown community! Below is a news release provided by ImOn about the announcement. ImOn Communications Announces Fiber Internet Network Build in Marshalltown ImOn Communications, a leading provider of high-speed Internet services across Iowa, is excited to announce the expansion of its 100-percent-fiber-optic network to Marshalltown, Iowa.
In 2024, ImOn plans to build out the city of Marshalltown, providing its ultra-fast fiber Internetservice to both homes and businesses. “We are thrilled to welcome Marshalltown to the ImOn family,” said ImOn President and CEO, Patrice Carroll. “This expansion marks our commitment to supplying Iowans with the reliable connections they need to thrive in the digital age, backed by the highest level of customer service and dedicated community support.” ImOn has greatly appreciated the cooperation with the City of Marshalltown and looks forward to continuing the collaboration. The ImOn team has been working with the city’s Public Works Department throughout the early stages of the build effort, ensuring the network design is in line with the city’s requirements and laying the groundwork for construction to begin. ImOn will continue to communicate with the appropriate city officials, as well as the broader community, to keep them informed of all construction plans. “The COVID year taught Marshalltown that access to Internet is pivotal for students,” said Marshalltown Mayor Joel T.S. Greer. “As mayor, I am personally excited that ImOn is willing to bring its residential and business fiber network to our community as another option for residents, business owners, and students. I am hearing good things from public leaders in the communities where ImOn has built its network.” Once service is live, Marshalltown homes will have access to Internet speeds up to 1 Gigabit per second, and businesses will have access to Internet speeds up to 10 Gigabits per second. Both residential and business services will be powered by ImOn’s extremely reliable network. Marshalltown is the fifth metro service area to be added to ImOn’s advanced fiber network. Founded in Cedar Rapids in 2007, ImOn’s service area has grown rapidly over the last five years to include the Cedar Rapids metro, Iowa City metro, Dubuque metro, Siouxland area, and now Marshalltown. For more information about ImOn Communications and its services, please visit www.imon.net. About ImOn Communications: Headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, ImOn Communications is a leading broadband provider delivering ultra-high-speed, reliable internet, TV, and phone services to residential and business customers. ImOn’s growth over the past decade is thanks to its commitment in offering the latest in high-speed broadband technology and delivering the highest level of customer service while making an impact in the communities it serves one connection at a time. For more information regarding ImOn Communications, visit www.ImOn.net. CBAN wants to extend a big thank you to the companies that have signed up as sponsors and exhibitors at the 2024 CBAN Spring Summit on April 9, 2024 at Stoney Creek Hotel in Johnston!
If you haven't registered yet, please take a moment to do so. Remember, our sessions will also be streamed live to our registrants so if you can't be there in person you can still participate! ASSOCIATE MEMBERS - We have just 5 openings left for exhibit tables and sponsors, so join the companies listed above to participate! CLICK HERE to sign up so you don't miss out!
We are grateful to have netElastic as CBAN's newest associate member. Along with all our other associate member, netElastic suports the CBAN mission of Building Broadband Bridges! We asked netElastic to provide the following introduction to the rest of the CBAN family.  netElastic is an innovative software company dedicated to helping communities deliver broadband to more residents while minimizing investments in infrastructure through virtual routing solutions.
netElastic developed one of the first software-based broadband network gateways (vBNGs) and has been a leader in vBNGs ever since. Community broadband providers have been choosing netElastic vBNG over traditional router manufacturers due to netElastic’s greater scalability, flexibility, and lower costs. Communities rely on netElastic to help virtualize their network to help stretch investment dollars while upgrading their network performance. netElastic Carrier-Grade NAT (CGNAT) helps conserve IPv4 addresses while ensuring a smooth transition to IPv6. netElastic's software-based CGNAT also offers the lowest TCO in the industry.  In a move that goes against recent trends for more municipal broadband networks, the town of Bardstown, Kentucky, has decided to sell its city-owned cable system to Charter Communications. While the decision was driven by the need for immediate cash flow to finance essential water and sewer utility projects, many critics argue that this move is short-sighted and could have long-term ramifications for the community's broadband and technology future. At the heart of the issue is the surrendering of local control over Bardstown's broadband infrastructure. With Charter Communications taking over the cable system, the town relinquishes its ability to shape and tailor its internet services to meet the unique needs of its residents. This loss of control could potentially result in decreased service quality, limited choices for consumers, and a lack of investment in expanding broadband access to underserved areas within Bardstown. Furthermore, by selling its cable system, Bardstown is essentially handing over the keys to its technological future to a large corporation whose primary goal is profit. This raises concerns about whether Charter Communications will prioritize the needs of Bardstown's residents or focus solely on maximizing its bottom line. History has shown that in many cases, corporate interests do not always align with the best interests of local communities. One of the key arguments put forth by Bardstown officials in favor of the sale is the belief that the town is too small to sustain its own cable system financially. However, this contention is challenged by the existence of numerous small communities across the United States that have successfully operated and managed their own broadband utilities. Indeed, many of these other communities are smaller than Bardstown. These communities have demonstrated that with careful planning, investment, and community support, it is indeed possible for small towns to maintain control over their broadband infrastructure while providing affordable and reliable internet access to residents. Rather than viewing the sale of the cable system as the only solution to generate revenue for essential utility projects, Bardstown should explore alternative options that allow the town to retain control over its broadband future. This could include seeking partnerships with neighboring communities, exploring grant funding opportunities, or even considering the possibility of creating a cooperative broadband utility owned and operated by the residents themselves. While the sale of Bardstown's cable system may provide a short-term financial boost, it comes at the expense of sacrificing local control over the community's broadband and technology future. By exploring alternative solutions and leveraging the examples set by other small communities across the country, Bardstown has the opportunity to chart a more sustainable and empowering path forward for its residents.
Much attention has been focused on closing the "digital divide" when it comes to access to faster broadband speeds. But what about the growing importance of latency as a measure of broadband quality? At NTCA's RTime conference in Flordia last week, steps to reduce latency in rural areas came front and center during a panel discussion. Brent Lagg, executive director of Connected Nation, says one of the challenge is the lack of internet exchange points across the nation. Currently there are only 57 cities that have internet exchange points, and those are in urban areas. So rural carriers are forced to haul their data over middle mile networks to reach the peering point, increasing lag for their customers. And that adds to the digital divide. “We can’t have one type of experience in urban areas and a different experience in rural areas” - Brent Lagg, Connected Nation In addition for the need for more internet exchange points in strategic locations, the panel discucssed the need for more robust middle mile routes to connect to them. For more on the panel discussion, CLICK HERE to read the story at Telecompetitor.
 CBAN has released its first ever Impact Report, outlining the activities that CBAN has participated in since our foundingin 2018. The process of putting the report together was very eye-opening for our small but passionate team! We're proud to say that we've served 59 communities in our various roles with a total population of nearly one million people! From broadband studies to community engagement and digital equity activities, CBAN continues to build up on the foundation of promoting better broadband access and digital equity. As we move forward, we are more dedicated than ever to "Building Broadband Bridges". We're excited to have all our CBAN members along for the journey! We hope you will take a few minutes to review the 2023 Impact Report and share your comments with us at [email protected]. And if you're a Broadband Bytes subscriber but not yet a CBAN member, join us! CLICK HERE with information on our membership categories and to join.
Curtis Dean with CBAN will be leading a panel discussion at Connected America, a major industry gathering in Dallas, Texas on March 12-13, 2024. And YOU are invited to attend absolutely free! CBAN has been given free guest passes to attend the event, and we'd love to have you join us! The session Curtis is leading is Connecting the Rural Economy. A great panel will join the discussion:
Note from Curtis: I'm really excited about this panel! I've seen several of the panelists present in the past and they bring an amazing trove of experience to the table. If you are interested in receiving a free pass, drop Curtis Dean a note at [email protected].
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