National Broadband Policies: Brought to You by Cities

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[Commentary] When it comes to broadband’s ability to spur economic growth and achieve social progress, cities may turn out to be the most significant public entities in 2015.

Construction costs are a huge barrier to greater fiber deployment -- and here cities are the lead public actor. Rights of way, permitting, pole access, building access, build-out requirements and other factors all directly impact planning and investment. Smart local policies, such as requiring conduit or fiber installation during road construction, can reduce deployment costs by 90 percent while adding less than 1 percent to total project cost and minimizing neighborhood disruption. Further, as we have seen with Google Fiber, AT&T Gigapower, CenturyLink and smaller players, new city policies are driving fiber upgrades across the country.

Local governments also lead on public services that will rely on broadband quality. While the federal government plays a role in education, health care, social services and public safety, local efforts deliver the lion’s share of these services. Local policies will determine the speed by which we make these services more personalized, accountable and effective.

Finally, when it comes to broadband subscribers, households and business predominantly locate in cities and metropolitan areas. That means adoption concerns, including its perceived relevance by potential subscribers, will play out in urban and suburban communities across the country. Critically, with under-adopting communities often those most dependent on local services, transforming the delivery of public services to a digital platform could turn out to be a significant driver of adoption.


National Broadband Policies: Brought to You by Cities