More than 300,000 speed tests showed that six of the ten fastest internet service providers were locally run, including the fastest: Sonic in California.
Comcast and AT&T may be the biggest internet service providers (ISPs), but according to a study from PCMag neither crack the top ten fastest. In fact, private ISPs generally lagged behind their not-for-profit local counterparts. PCmag created a metric using upload and download speeds along with line performance to find the best ISPs and discovered six of the top ten spots on their list went to public local ISPs.
"When all regional ISPs were compared side by side, the fastest ISP in America was independent California ISP, Sonic, with a score of 610.6. Sonic has been working with select California communities to leverage their publicly-owned fiber networks,” Karl Bode writes for Vice.
Though local ISPs may lack the resources that mega-ISPs have, other factors allow them to provide faster internet. "Thanks to both corruption and limited competition, US broadband is routinely sluggish, pricey, with comically bad customer service. Frustrated by years of dysfunction, many towns and cities are either building their own broadband networks, developing local cooperatives, or striking partnerships with third party companies to build better networks than are currently available," Bode argues. In most states large ISPs have had success legislating their competitors out of business by making it difficult for municipalities to create ISPs or outlawing them all together.
FULL STORY: Locally Run ISPs Offer the Fastest Broadband in America
New Fiberoptic Cable Infrastructure Is Changing Alaska’s Classrooms
Rural Alaska has some of the least reliable and slowest internet connections in the country, but new cable infrastructure in the Arctic Sea is changing that.
5G Broadband Coming in 2018, Says Verizon
The telecommunications company will debut the next-generation technology in three to five cities next year, including Sacramento.
Most Americans Say Cities Should be Able to Build Their Own Broadband Networks
It's illegal for local governments to build broadband service in 20 states, and such legislation is spreading.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association