Municipal broadband | public internet networks | Allconnect.com

Key takeaways Municipal broadband is an internet network owned by public entities instead of private companies It provides communities with publicly owned internet at an affordable price Municipal broadband isn’t very common, but there are almost 500 municipal broadband networks in the U.S.Municipal broadband has caused a stir among internet service providers and government agencies.It is an internet network owned by public entities instead of private companies that is centered around providing communities with a public-owned, affordable internet option.

Setting up such a community broadband network isn’t allowed in several states.New York is a success story in municipal broadband, having launched pilot projects in 2022 and receiving new federal funding for another municipal project in 2024.Iowa and Vermont also have successful programs.

The trend is growing, with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance reporting that an average of 15 new networks are added each year over the last decade.The institute provides a map of all municipal networks as well.With the disbursement of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, the legal and financial landscape for municipal broadband projects has never been more uncertain.

Significant changes via state and federal regulations are underway, both to hinder and to help cities and towns interested in growing their internet network.Pros and cons of community broadband How common are municipal internet providers? According to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, there are currently 447 municipal broadband networks in the U.S.The development of these programs is relatively recent, with the last decade seeing their primary push so far.

One of the biggest success stories has happened in Chattanooga, which was the first to offer gigabit speeds through its community network.Not only has the infrastructure remained strong enough to handle a combination of high demand and fast speeds, but the city has also managed to charge roughly half of what private companies did for similar speeds.Prices and speeds vary significantly between municipalities and providers, but prices around $50/mo.

are standard, as are speed ranges of 25 Mbps to 1 Gbps.Below are examples of municipal broadband providers currently operating and offering cheap broadband for residents.Ammon Fiber in Ammon, Idaho Bandera Fiber in Bandera, Texas Bardstown Connect in Bardstown, Kentucky EPB in Chattanooga, Tennessee FiberHome Broadband in Cedar Falls, Iowa FiberNet in Monticello, Minnesota Greenlight Community Broadband in Wilson, North Carolina Highland Communication Service in Highland, Illinois Lus Fiber in Lafayette, Louisiana Marshall Municipal Utilities in Marshall, Missouri NextLight Internet in Longmont, Colorado North Alabama Electric in Stevenson, Alabama OptiLink in Dalton, Georgia PES Energize in Pulaski, Tennessee SandyNet in Sandy, Oregon Sebewaing Light and Water in Sebewaing, Michigan Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant in Taunton, Massachusetts CityLink in Wadsworth, Ohio Legal challenges facing municipal internet projects There are a handful of states that currently have legal roadblocks in place for municipal broadband projects, but some are in the process of contesting or changing those laws.

Right now, there are 53 million households in 16 states that have laws restricting municipal broadband: Alabama Florida Louisiana Missouri Montana Michigan Nebraska Nevada North Carolina Pennsylvania South Carolina Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Wisconsin At the federal level, lawmakers are divided on municipal internet providers.Some Congress members favor paving the way for more municipal broadband projects, both financially and legally.In contrast, others have recently introduced bills to ban the entire practice at a federal level.

If that were to happen, municipal broadband could become illegal in every state.Municipal public-private partnerships Municipal broadband public-private partnerships (PPPs) are collaborations between private companies and local governments to deliver internet to the public.These partnerships can take different forms, such as the municipality funding and owning the core broadband infrastructure while the private internet company operates and manages the customers, or the private company building and operating the network with municipal support.  These partnerships are thought of as low-risk and high-reward collaborations, with the community interests as the main focus.  Here are a few examples of PPPs:  Comcast has invested over $80 billion in active PPPs with communities in various states.

Read more about Comcast’s partnerships with underserved communities.  Bland County, Virginia, formed a partnership with Gigabeam Networks.The county built and currently manages cell towers, allowing open access to any provider.Scott County, Kentucky, partnered with Spectrum to expand broadband access throughout the county.  Federal funding impacts municipal broadband In late 2021, Congress passed H.R.3684, also known as the Infrastructure and Investment and Jobs Act.

The bill allocated significant sums of money to facilitate broadband access and affordability to U.S.households, including more than $40 billion on the BEAD program.The federal law says that states “may not exclude” local networks from accessing the funding, but the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) — the organization responsible for distributing funds to states — has said it won’t delay funding to states with preexisting laws restricting municipal broadband.

The creation of BEAD has pushed public broadband into the national spotlight like never before.For now, states are scrambling to study related issues and put relevant legislation into place to keep up with federal requirements, citizen internet needs and private ISP stakeholder concerns.As this issue evolves over the coming years, the state-level responses and the successes and failures of municipal internet projects will become more apparent.

For researchers and journalists If you would like to know more about this topic, we can assist you.Our experts can help you dig deeper into the data.Email our experts Written by: Camryn Smith As one of Allconnect’s writers, Camryn Smith helps consumers navigate complex home internet services and broadband technology through her helpful content.

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