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Ashland Oregon Joins Gresham OR, Portland OR, Sandy OR and Eugene OR as Next Century Cities Leader for High-Speed Internet

NextCentury
 

Ashland Oregon Joins Gresham OR, Portland OR, Sandy OR and Eugene OR as Next Century Cities Leader for High-Speed Internet

Nationwide initiative supports broadband investment for community development
  
Ashland Oregon, October 10, 2017 – Today, Donald Kewley (Ashland Fiber Network Operations Manager) announced that Ashland Oregon has joined Next Century Cities, a bipartisan, city-to-city initiative dedicated to ensuring the availability of next-generation broadband Internet for all communities.
 
The City of Ashland Fiber Network (AFN) started in the late 1990’s with the vision of creating a telecommunications infrastructure that showcases local people, supports local innovators and shares the community’s unique way of living and thinking with the world. 

AFN’s mission is to provide Ashland with a public telecommunications utility that creates opportunities and enables our citizens, business and municipal government to thrive as a connected community. 

The cities current facilities include: A Headend/Data Center, 119 miles of cable, 40 miles of fiber optic cable, optical amplifiers, power supplies, and other active devices. Today, AFN and its ISP partners continue to provide competitive Internet, Cable TV and Telephony services and high-quality customer service to the local community.

“Next Century Cities welcomes Ashland Oregon, the latest community to join us in support of high-speed Internet” said Deb Socia, Executive Director of Next Century Cities. “We encourage all cities who are interested in recognizing the benefits of these investments to business, schools, government, and more to join this initiative.”
 
To date, over 180 cities and their elected leaders have joined Next Century Cities in recognition of the importance of leveraging gigabit-level Internet to attract new businesses and create jobs, improve health care and education, and connect residents to new opportunities. Next Century Cities will support communities and their elected leaders across the country as they seek to ensure that all have access to fast, affordable, and reliable Internet.
 
Next Century Cities member cities include: Albany (NY), Albuquerque (NM), Alexandria (VA),  Alford (MA), Ammon (ID), Arlington (WA), Arlington County (VA), Arvada (CO), Ashland (OR), Atlanta (GA), Auburn (IN), Austin (TX), Baltimore (MD), Benicia (CA), Berkeley (CA), Beverly Hills (CA), Bexley (OH) Biloxi (MS), Bloomington (IN), Boise (ID), Boston (MA) Boulder (CO), Bryan (TX), Burbank (CA), Burlington (WA), Carbondale (IL), Carl Junction (MO), Cedar Falls (IA), Centennial (CO), Centerville (UT), Champaign (IL), Chapel Hill (NC), Charlotte (NC), Chattanooga (TN), Chesterton (IN), Chewelah (WA), Chicopee (MA), Chula Vista (CA), Clarksville (TN), College Station (TX), Columbus (OH), Condon (OR), Cortez (CO), Culver City (CO), Dahlonega (GA), Davidson (NC), Duluth (MN), Emmett (ID), Erie (PA), Eugene (OR), Fairburn (GA), Fairhope (AL), Fairlawn (OH), Fayetteville (AK), Fort Collins (CO), Fresno (CA), Gainesville (FL), Gainesville (TX), Garden Grove (CA), Grand Junction, (CO), Grandview (MO), Granville (OH), Gresham (OR), Gulfport (MS), Hagerstown (MD), Hanover (NH), Hartford (CT), Hays (KS), Hendersonville (TN), Highland (IL), Honolulu (HI), Huntington Beach (CA), Independence (OR), Islesboro (ME), Jackson (TN), Kansas City (KS), Kansas City (MO), Keene (NH), Kenmore (WA), Lafayette (LA), Lakeland (FL), Lawrence (KS), Lake Oswego (OR), Layton City (UT), LeRoy (MN), Letcher County (KY), Lewiston (ME), Lincoln (NE), Leverett (MA), Lexington (KY), Longmont (CO), Los Angeles (CA), Louisville (KY), Lowell (MA), Madison (WI), Marina (CA), Martin County (FL), Medina County (OH), Mendocino County (CA), Mena (AR), Mesa (AZ), Miami-Dade (FL), Middletown (RI), Missoula (MT), Montgomery County (MD), Monticello (MN), Montrose (CO), Morehead (KY), Morristown (TN), Mount Vernon (WA), Murray City (UT), New Bedford (MA), New Haven (CT), Northampton (MA), Oakland (CA), Opelika (AL), Orem (UT), Palo Alto (CA), Pasco County (FL), Payson (AZ), Pikeville (KY), Pittsburgh (PA), Ponca City (OK), Portland (OR), Prestonsburg (KY), Provo (UT), Raleigh (NC), Richmond (CA), Richmond (KY), River Falls (WI), Riverside (CA), Riverside County (CA), Roanoke (VA), Rockport (ME), Rome (GA), Salem (VA), Salisbury (NC), Sallisaw (OK), San Antonio (TX), San Francisco (CA), San Jose (CA), San Leandro (CA), Sandy (OR), Sanford (ME), Santa Cruz County (CA), Santa Monica (CA), Saratoga Springs (NY), Scarborough, (ME), Schenectady (NY), Seattle (WA), Shaker Heights (OH), Sonoma County (CA), Socorro (NM), South Portland (ME), South San Francisco (CA), Spanish Fork (UT), Spring Hill (KS) Stamford (CT), Starkville (MS), Syracuse (NY), Thompson's Station (TN), Tucson (AZ), Tullahoma (TN), Urbana (IL), Vallejo (CA), Vancouver (WA), Virginia Beach (VA), West Hartford (CT), West Hollywood (CA), Westminster (MD), Wilson (NC), Wilton Manors (FL), Windom (MN), Winters (CA), Winthrop (MN), and Yellow Springs (OH). 

Next Century Cities: Connecting Communities 

Next Century Cities supports mayors and community leaders across the country as they seek to ensure that everyone has fast, affordable, and reliable internet access. 

Across the country, innovative municipalities recognize the importance of leveraging gigabit level internet to attract new businesses and create jobs, improve health care and education, bolster civic participation, and connect residents to new opportunities. Next Century Cities is committed to celebrating communities’ successes, demonstrating the value of next-generation broadband, and helping other cities work to realize the full power of truly high-speed, affordable, and accessible broadband. 

Our Principles 

Next Century Cities believes that there is no single pathway to a smart, effective approach to next-generation broadband. What matters is meaningful choice, dedicated leadership, and smart collaboration. All Next Century Cities members are committed to the following principles: 

High-Speed Internet Is Necessary Infrastructure: fast, reliable, and affordable internet – at 
globally competitive speeds – is no longer optional. Residents, schools, libraries, and businesses require next-generation connectivity to succeed. 

The Internet Is Nonpartisan: because the internet is an essential resource for residents and 
businesses in all communities, the provision of fast, reliable, and affordable internet transcends partisanship. This collaboration welcomes leaders of all affiliations and beliefs who believe fast, reliable, and affordable high-speed internet access is essential to secure America’s internet future. 

Communities Must Enjoy Self-Determination: broadband solutions must align with community 
needs—there is no perfect model that is universally appropriate. Towns and cities should have the right to consider all options – whether public, nonprofit, corporate, or some other hybrid – free from interference. 

High-Speed Internet Is a Community-Wide Endeavor: building effective next-generation 
networks requires cooperation across communities. It is critical to involve and include multiple 
stakeholders and perspectives to succeed, including businesses, community organizations, residents, anchor institutions, and others. Everyone in a community should be able to access the internet on reasonable terms. 

Meaningful Competition Drives Progress: a vibrant, diverse marketplace, with transparency in 
offerings, pricings, and policies will spur innovation, increase investment, and lower prices. 
Communities, residents, and businesses should have a meaningful choice in providers. 

Collaboration Benefits All: innovative approaches to broadband deployment present diverse 
challenges and opportunities to communities and regions. Working together, cities can learn from the experiences of others, lower costs, and make the best use of next-generation networks. 

Next Century Cities www.nextcenturycities.org 
1200 18th Street NW, Suite 700 deb@nextcenturycities.org 
Washington, DC 20036 @NextCentCit 


A City-to-City Membership Organization 

We invite communities to join Next Century Cities and strengthen the ability of mayors and city leaders nationwide to help their communities prosper and compete in the 21st century. Next Century Cities supports mayors and municipal officials across the country as they seek to ensure that everyone has fast, affordable, and reliable internet access. 

Elevating the Conversation: we work with leaders and their communities to share stories and make community voices part of the national broadband conversation. Cities that have or would like to develop truly next-generation networks are visionary cities, and their leaders recognize what it takes to be competitive in the 21st century. Next Century Cities works with these leaders and their cities to make the case nationally and within communities that next-generation internet is an essential infrastructure that can deliver transformative benefits to communities today. 

Supporting Cities: communities stepping into the 21st century through next-generation networks face myriad challenges. It is essential to provide crucial support to facilitate these innovative projects and share information about federal-level broadband actions that impact communities throughout the country. Next Century Cities and our members work to overcome obstacles to success and achieve access for all. 

Providing Tools for Success: developing a next-generation network is a daunting task for a city of any size. It is important that communities have access to resources, advice, and tools to develop effective broadband internet networks. We are committed to developing and aggregating resources to guide new projects, as well as tools to help those already equipped with this infrastructure better leverage their networks to yield community benefits. 

We are excited to continue working with diverse towns and cities across the country to lead a new conversation on what it takes to compete and thrive in the 21st century. 

For more information or to have your community join Next Century Cities, visit NextCenturyCities.org or contact Executive Director Deb Socia at eb@NextCenturyCities.org. 

Next Century Cities www.nextcenturycities.org 
1200 18th Street NW, Suite 700 deb@nextcenturycities.org 
Washington, DC 20036 @NextCentCit 



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