Municipal broadband internet: The next public utility?

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Municial broadband initiatives across the country seem to be gaining steam as cities look to encourage equitable access — but pitfalls around cost and taxpayer risk remain. Despite many cities and counties looking to put together a municipal broadband initiative of their own, there remains strong opposition from telecom companies, as well as concerns over cost. While the Columbia Telecommunications Corporation report found that municipal internet in Seattle is feasible, it also raised concerns about the price tag of the project, which is complicated by the fact that Seattle City Light cannot assume additional financial risk and so would need guaranteed payments to cover operations and maintenance. And the need to raise money through a tax hike put San Francisco’s plans for citywide broadband on hold after polls showed that a revenue initiative would not have received the two-thirds support needed from voters. The Federal Communications Commission seems to agree that the private sector is helping close the digital divide and deploying broadband in a timely manner. Deb Socia, executive director of nonprofit Next Century Cities that works with cities to promote equitable internet access, said that localities have been relied upon to build all manner of public services, and if internet is viewed as such, this would be an extension of those efforts. “The issue is: the market isn't solving the problem,” she said. “I don't expect a for-profit company to take on an effort that will not make them money; that's not what they do, they are for-profit.”


Municipal broadband internet: The next public utility?