Idaho Cable Broadband Association

BOISE IDAHO: The Idaho Cable Broadband Association (ICBA) today announced the results of a study evaluating the state of broadband deployment in Idaho. The study was conducted by Denver based CableLabs, a research and development lab for the cable industry.

CableLabs’ Idaho Fixed Broadband Report was based on 2017 year-end data filed by Idaho internet service providers (ISPs) with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The report finds that download speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) or higher were available to 81% of Idaho’s population, and gigabit broadband service was available to 65% of Idaho residents. The cable industry continues its role-out of Gig services and even more communities have Gig high-speed internet available since the data reporting period. The report also finds that deployment of broadband services in Idaho “compares well to that of other states in the Intermountain West.”

“The deployment of gigabit broadband in Idaho is representative of the cable industry’s commitment to deliver broadband performance well ahead of consumer demand,” said Ron Williams, Executive Director of the ICBA. As noted by Maury Lee, ICBA President and General Manager of Sparklight, Pocatello/Idaho Falls, formerly Cable One, “The Idaho Fixed Broadband Report places Idaho ahead of surrounding states Nevada, Wyoming, and Montana in deployment of very high-speed broadband, and competitive with Utah.”

The CableLabs report also ranks all 44 Idaho counties on the availability of fixed wireline broadband of 25 Mbps, with Bonner, Kootenai, Ada, Boundary, Canyon, Bannock. and Bonneville Counties all scoring above 90%, but with Benewah, Lewis, Boise, Idaho, Clearwater, and Camas Counties all coming in below 25%.

“The CableLabs report identifies a digital divide on a county-by-county basis in Idaho,” said Cheryl Goettsche, Sparklight General Manager from Nampa. “It demonstrates the problem that certain rural areas of the state are simply very difficult to reach with today’s technology. This is a problem that we must work together to resolve.”

“Providing broadband service to smaller, rural communities has always been a priority for Charter, especially in north Idaho,” said Danielle Wade, Charter’s Area Vice President. “We are constantly evaluating opportunities to extend our network to deliver broadband to more homes.” ICBA member companies Sparklight, Cox, and Charter are all participating in the Idaho Department of Commerce Broadband Task Force, with Guy Cherp from Cox chairing the task force’s broadband mapping committee. “Moving beyond the current census block data to more granular information will provide better broadband mapping tools allowing all ISPs to better identify where broadband service is not available and then drive towards solutions to get those homes and businesses served,” said Mr. Cherp.

For additional information, please contact Ron Williams at (208) 344-6633.

‘This country is in a good place:’ C-SPAN honors student videographers

Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on May 1, 2019

When Caitlin Lanterman and Madison Collins teamed up last fall to work on a video project for their American government class, they wanted to pick a topic that resonated with them.

They settled on an issue that had dominated the headlines the preceding summer: border security, and the Trump administration’s short-lived family separation policy. The students were drawn to this issue, Lanterman said, by “the moral issue that we had with that.”

The Mountain View High School seniors’ project went national. It’s among one 150 winners in C-SPAN’s annual student video documentary competition, StudentCam. Representatives from the cable public affairs network came to Meridian Wednesday for an assembly honoring the students.

Lanterman and Collins were chosen from a field of more than 6,300 student entrants. C-SPAN staffers reviewed more than 2,900 entries, prompted by a broad question: “What does it mean to be an American?” Nearly a tenth of these entries focused on immigration.

The winning entries have to survive three levels of judging, said Doug Hemmig of C-SPAN. It’s a time-consuming process for staff. But for a network that chronicles the politics of the present, the process is a reminder that engaged, energetic young people are ready to shape the future — students like Collins, who plans to study criminal justice at Boise State University; and Lanterman, who plans to study business and economics at the University of Idaho.

“This country is in a good place,” Hemmig said during Wednesday’s assembly.

The students’ video mixes the national debate with local perspectives. Clips of President Trump are interspersed with interviews from a Treasure Valley citizenship ceremony. Attending this ceremony — along with immigrants from more than 50 nations — was a moving part of the project, Collins said.

“It was a cool experience,” she said.

They didn’t expect to win. Then Collins got an email from C-SPAN, which said the students had received an honorable mention and a $250 award.

“I was like, ‘Dude, did you know we got money?’” Collins recalled telling Lanterman.

The check is on the way, Hemmig told Collins and Lanterman Wednesday. In the meantime, they posed with certificates from C-SPAN and the Idaho congressional delegation. They joined their classmates on a tour of one of C-SPAN’s 45-foot buses, which traverses the nation and serves as a soundproof rolling studio.

And the class needled their American government teacher, Bill Driscoll, after Collins pointed out that the winning video only got a “B” in class.

Still, Driscoll said, the video did what he hoped it would do. It took on an important topical issue.

In American government class, he said, the curriculum doesn’t change much. The framework, the separation of powers between three branches of government, remains a constant. The best way to make the curriculum resonate is to tie it to current events. So Driscoll encourages his students to take on controversial issues.

“It’s exciting,” he said.

Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on May 1, 2019