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Alexandria may have found its Comcast competitors

Published February 16, 2022 at 2:45PM

Empty municipal fiber cables to be laid in the ground (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

The City of Alexandria may have landed on agreements with two internet service providers to run broadband networks and open up the competition with the current internet monopoly: Comcast.

In January, the city announced that four companies had been shortlisted to operate a broadband internet service on cables the city was laying down alongside the new municipal network. An update scheduled for the Tuesday, Feb. 22, will as the City Council to approve right-of-way franchises to Lumos Telephone, Inc. and Ting, Inc.

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Four internet companies vie for chance to take on Comcast in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles

Published January 14, 2022 at 1:15PM

Empty municipal fiber cables to be laid in the ground (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

Alexandria is moving forward with its long-awaited broadband network — and potentially breaking Comcast’s internet monopoly — with a shortlist of potential broadband internet providers.

At a City Council meeting on Tuesday, the City Council approve the receipt of four broadband franchise proposals.

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ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles

Published November 5, 2021 at 3:30PM

Voting at Alexandria City Hall (staff photo by James Cullum)

It was election week in Alexandria, so congratulations and/or condolences.

Alexandria Democrats managed to hold onto all of the City Council seats. Mayor Justin Wilson won reelection and Elizabeth Bennett-Parker was elected to the 45th District House of Delegates seat. But any local Democrat euphoria was dampened by statewide losses that Wilson warned could reverse recent local wins on some issues.

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City Council to step up fight against Comcast internet monopoly next week

By Vernon Miles

Published November 4, 2021 at 9:50AM

Empty municipal fiber cables to be laid in the ground (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

Alexandria’s City Council is scheduled to throw down the gauntlet on Comcast next week as the city works to break the company’s stranglehold on local internet access.

The city broke ground in August on a new municipal fiber-optic network that would boost internet speed at city facilities and public schools, but the part of bigger interest to the public was that a second underground system was being laid simultaneously to allow a private company to step in later and franchise it.

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Mayor Says Comcast Data Throttling Highlights Danger of Company’s Internet Monopoly

By Vernon Miles

Published February 10, 2021 at 10:30AM

Comcast sent shockwaves through localities in the northeast with plan to implement data caps, and Mayor Justin Wilson said this emphasizes more than ever the need to break the cable company’s monopoly on internet in Alexandria.

“It’s frustrating to see Comcast put new policy in place…basically data caps,” Wilson said. “They’ve said there’s a small number of customers who would be impacted by this, but in the end it’s not great timing.”