What Impact Will the Community Broadband Act Have?

The Community Broadband Act (S. 240), introduced by Sen Cory Booker (D-NJ), gives cities and counties the right to become Internet service providers or build out existing services in their regions. And while partisan politics may doom the measure, advocates for local control believe the effort is already a victory because of the publicity the issue has received.

Chris Mitchell, director of the Telecommunications as Commons Initiative of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and a national expert on community broadband, called Sen Booker’s legislation an opportunity for Republicans who are opposed to the Federal Communications Commission meddling with state laws to step up in support for local authority. “If we don’t see any Republicans supporting it, we may be led to believe that they are just searching for a convenient justification to do what powerful cable lobbyists are demanding,” Mitchell said.