Next Generation Broadband in Montana

Entrepreneurs are rushing to the city thanks to Google launching an incredibly fast broadband network there last summer called Google Fiber.

The Feasibility Study will provide information that local government needs to make strategic decisions on investing in and encouraging broadband infrastructure and making policies that will encourage fiber broadband services that meet local needs.

Extreme broadband is on the verge of being rolled out in Missoula, but what does that mean to you?

Rural communities, in particular, are underserved by broadband providers.

The White House issued an Open Data during the first week of May. Last year the FCC detailed how valuable its open data policy had been to the country in a case study of broadband mapping put together by the Woodrow WIlson Center. The executive summary and a video provide an introduction to what the agency learned.

"We felt like the time is now to bring on a consultant and really get a professional assessment on what we have, what the demand is and what the potential partnerships are."

This collaboration also enhances the future prospects for beneficial economic development in the Flathead.

While corporate investment in national broadband infrastructure has increased the quality of service for affluent urban populations over the past decade, the expansion of service to disadvantaged communities has been left to the public sector. Local communities across the country are using new, innovative approaches to address the issue.

Council members need to hear from you about why your business needs extreme broadband.

The reactions of established service providers are proving the company’s point–that there’s not enough competition in the telecommunications industry.