President Obama Gets Behind Municipal Broadband. What About You, Seattle?

From The Stranger's Ansel Herz:

"President Obama is in the small town of Cedar Falls, Iowa today to talk about something he'll be highlighting in his State of the Union address next week: the need for affordable, high-speed Internet access.

Why Cedar Falls? Because two years ago, the utility company there launched afiber-based municipal broadband network. In this new video, Obama also talks up the success of Chattanooga, Tennessee's municipal broadband service. Both cities offer speeds of up to 1 gigabit, or 1,000 megabits per second (mbps).

I've written over and over about how Chattanooga can be a model for Seattle, and last month, the city's chief technology officer, Michael Mattmiller, flew there to meet with the energy utility that developed the program."

Screw Comcast and Centurylink

From The Stranger's Goldy:

"A city-owned fiber-optic system built atop City Light's AMI network would eventually reach every home and business in the city, offering speeds 10 to 20 times faster than current top offerings—plus voice and TV—at a much more affordable price. A 2007 study commissioned by the city estimated that this added competition could save Seattle consumers $2 billion over 20 years, providing a "gigantic boost to the local economy."

But is it feasible? Thomsen says that there could be "potential beyond the metering," but that City Light lacks the mandate to even ask the question. So is there the political will to instruct City Light to explore both the technical and economic potential?"