City broadband: great idea (St. Augustine Report by former Mayor George Gardner, August 5, 2015)

Consortium pushes broadband    There's a "consortium of small cities left out of internet access or with miserable broadband speeds, now hampering small internet-based businesses and clean forms of 21st century economic development," says resident Hazel Henderson, president of Ethical Markets Media.    Next Century Cities is a nonprofit public interest initiative that supports cities and leaders as they seek to ensure that all have access to affordable, reliable, fast Internet, according to its director, Deb Socia.    "We support cities by connecting folks from one city to another who may be doing similar work - giving all members the benefit of the experience of those who have gone before - topics include such issues as marketing, funding, dig once, telling the story, etc.    "We work with elected officials (Mayors, City Councilors) and city representatives (Town Managers and CIOs) to help them address the issues that impede their ability to ensure that all have access to next generation broadband."    The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently investigating what Socia calls "the terrible digital divide in the USA, which makes us 28th in the world in this 21st century infostructure."