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Community-Based Broadband Networks

Community-Based Broadband Networks

What are Community Broadband Networks?

Community broadband networks are built, operated, and/or maintained by city, municipal, co-ops, as well as other alternative models of ownership suited to address community needs, and not to make a private profit.
Community Broadband Map

Why do we want to protect community broadband networks?

Policies influenced by heavy industry lobbying have give a giant telecom company in one community monopolistic control over broadband services. Given this sole control, there is very little incentive for the corporation to meet the community’s needs by making broadband affordable, accessible or efficient. This approach has resulted in a lack of broadband availability for almost one-third of the U.S. population, according to figures by the Federal Communications Commission.

Old and trusted strategy, just new technology

Community infrastructure has played a critical role in the history of our nation’s economic growth, including the ability to install electricity wires in nearly all areas of the country. The success of lighting every household in America was spurred by local ownership of infrastructure that, over a span of 70 years, produced jobs, stimulated innovation, and ensured accountability.

Just like electricity, broadband is now a basic element of necessary infrastructure that must be guaranteed by policy and investment in order to ensure our nation’s economic survival. As unemployment is still our country’s biggest concern, it is critical that more people have access to fast and reliable Internet services to conduct job searches or submit job applications. Communities must be free to choose among the widest selection of tools to make sure their businesses and residents have access to the essential networks of the 21st century.

Examples of pro-community broadband bills

Iowa (1999)
Iowa Act Chapter 63

Washington State (2011)
House Bill 1711

Vermont (2011)* Enacted
Senate Bill 78

What are the main advantages to having community-based broadband networks?

  • There is no one better than local entities that can install the types of infrastructure that are needed for their residents, especially as they intersect with other community matters like the economy, education, public safety, health care, civic engagement, and overall quality of life.
  • Local ownership means universal access because local governments are accountable to the entire community.
  • When the community owns the network, community institutions like schools, libraries, and hospitals often pay less to obtain faster connections than are available through incumbent providers.
  • Local ownership prioritizes economic growth and a long-term vision for meeting community needs.
  • Community networks create opportunities that retain talent and business and allow for sustainable economic growth.
  • Ownership of broadband infrastructure by local governments allows them to leverage the infrastructure they already own, like telephone poles and water towers.
  • Allowing alternatives to broadband ownership results in competition for local telecommunications markets, and subsequently lower prices.

State Restrictions

At this time, 20 states impose barriers on community broadband. (1) Alabama, (2) Arkansas, (3) California, (4) Colorado, (5) Florida, (6) Louisiana, (7) Michigan, (8) Minnesota, (9) Missouri, (10) Nebraska, (11) Nevada, (12) North Carolina, (13) Pennsylvania, (14) South Carolina, (15) Tennessee, (16) Texas, (17) Utah, (18) Virginia, (19) Washington, and (20) Wisconsin.

These laws are all very different. Restrictions vary from absolute bans (like in Missouri and Texas), to public hearing requirements (as it is the case in Florida). In states like Michigan, the municipalities must have requested and received less than 3 qualified bids to provide those services. Minnesota requires a super majority of 65% of the voters’ approval, and Pennsylvania prohibits municipalities from providing broadband services to the public for a fee.

Baller Herbst Law Group
State Restrictions on Public Communications Initiatives

Success Stories

Hundreds of communities own broadband networks in the United States. Not only are community networks viable alternatives to private providers, but many of their services are far superior to those provided by incumbents. Below are a few examples:

Cedar Falls, IA
Cedar Falls Utilities, a city-owned network, launched its broadband operations in 1996 and was met with ever- increasing demand. The system’s operating revenue rose from $1.9 million in 1997 to $12.6 million in 2011. In August of 2010 CFU began a system upgrade, making ultra-fast fiber-to-the-premises connections available to the community’s 17,000 homes and businesses.

Chattanooga, TN
Ten years of planning has put Chattanooga ten years ahead of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan’s goals. With the first system capable of offering 1 Gbps speeds to everyone, Chattanooga’s municipally-owned broadband system also offers phone and television service in its territory, which includes rural areas outside the metro. Despite legal challenges from the incumbent telecommunications companies, enthusiastic public support helped the city prevail and produce a 100% fiber optic network and smart grid. Chattanooga can now support greater use of electric vehicles and increased investment in technology and new businesses, and has already attracted big businesses like Volkswagen, which relocated its North American headquarters to the city in 2008.

Wilson, NC
This city provides broadband at a speed that is 10 times faster than what the incumbents offer, and its cable TV and phone services are also at lower prices than competing private providers. When private providers raised rates in nearby counties over the last couple of years, they did not raise rates in Wilson.

Austin, TX
The Austin Wireless City Project was established as a non-profit group to improve the availability and quality of public free Wi-Fi in Austin. In its first three months of operation, the network only extended to more than a dozen restaurants, coffee shops, and bookstores; however, when the city got involved, hotspots were deployed in all of the city’s libraries and downtown squares.

Lafayette, LA
This conservative southern town owns one of the country’s best fiber-to-the-home connections.  For less than $30 a month, customers get 10 Mbps symmetrical speeds. It is widely recognized that this network – called LUS Fiber – has enhanced the competition in the local market place in terms of both price and technology.  Employers in the community have added many jobs in Lafayette because of its publicly owned broadband infrastructure.

 

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