Municipal Networks

The Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) was established by Act 71 (2021), legislation relating to accelerated community broadband deployment, to coordinate, facilitate, support, and accelerate the development and implementation of universal community broadband solutions. The board develops policies and programs to accelerate community efforts that advance the state’s goal of achieving universal access to reliable, high-quality, affordable, fixed broadband achieving speeds of at least 100 Mbps symmetrical. On October 26, the U.S.

For decades, municipal broadband operations have been subject to a minefield of restrictions and barriers designed to make the prospect of establishing or maintaining a community broadband network costly, difficult, and unsustainable. There are currently 17 states in total that have restrictive legislation against municipal broadband networks in the US.

The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program has $42.5 billion available to cover some of the costs of bringing broadband to unserved and underserved rural areas. States will administer the program but must first have a plan approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and, as new research from BroadbandNow shows, some states face an important hurdle as they prepare their plans—a hurdle that involves anti-municipal broadband laws.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has made its largest award of state broadband funds to local governments to date by providing $14 million in broadband technical assistance grants to 28 local governments to support efforts to close the digital divide. These are in addition to grants given earlier in October 2022.

I’ve worked with a number of small communities that want to explore the idea of having a community-owned broadband provider. My advice to small communities is the same as with all clients – economy-of-scale really matters for providers. Economy-of-scale is the economic term for describing how businesses get more efficient as they get larger. A large percentage of the costs of operating a broadband provider is fixed or nearly fixed. Any fixed cost acts in the same manner as the general manager’s salary.

Vermont stakeholders have collaborated on an application for $114 million in funding through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) middle mile grant program. If awarded, the funding would represent over 10% of the approximately $1 billion allotted to the NTIA program, which has proven to be a highly competitive one. The Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) spearheaded the application. The request would cover some of the costs of the proposed 1,663-mile fiber network.

If the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment, or BEAD, program is to be a game changer for digital equity, grant makers must ensure government dollars go where they’re needed most. They should start by looking at the growing movement of community connectivity providers whose primary purpose is to help people meet their digital needs at affordable prices.

NTT is building a private wireless network for the City of Las Vegas, Nevada. The new 5G network will be the most extensive private wireless network in the US. The City of Las Vegas intends for the network to serve as an open platform available to local businesses, government, and educational institutions. Shahid Ahmed, Group EVP of New Ventures and Innovation at NTT, said the network is currently in the testing stages and will be launched “in the next few weeks.” He specified that it’s not a direct-to-consumer service.

Across the world, a growing number of community networks, municipal networks, and social enterprises are successfully connecting those who have historically been unserved or underserved by traditional internet service providers. This report analyzes the operating models and financing mechanisms that can support the success of these community connectivity providers (CCPs). It is designed to help those who build and fund broadband infrastructure to identify and support sustainable solutions that can expand connectivity and accelerate digital equity. The report explores:

The US Department of the Treasury has approved an additional $66 million in broadband funding for New Hampshire under the American Rescue Plan’s Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (CPF). New Hampshire was among the first four states to receive CPF funding from the Treasury, which approved its first award of $50 million in June.