Smart Mobs points to an article in USA Today that looks at how small U.S communities are setting up high speed broadband networks.

Danville and Provo are just two of about 800 communities that are in some stage of municipal broadband deployment, estimates Michael Render, president of Render Vanderslice & Associates,which tracks fiber-optic deployments. According to Render, the trend is gaining steam as broadband becomes as much a part of a town’s infrastructure as sidewalks, sewer lines, power lines and gas mains.

Provo is a good example. Qwest and Comcast were providing high-speed services, but the city wasn’t happy with the speed or overall quality. About five years ago, Provo, tired of waiting for supercharged broadband to show up, decided to move ahead on its own dime.

Comcast and Qwest tried to block the plan, igniting a bitter face-off with the city. Provo ultimately prevailed, but not before a lot of mud had been slung in both directions.

The DailyWireless Cloud Report has more.

Posted by Sam Churchill on Thursday, September 23rd, 2004 at 8:06 am.