Rural Broadband's Struggles

Critics have attacked municipal Internet projects, calling them taxpayer-sapping money-losers and ventures better served by the private sector. But if President Barack Obama is serious about wiring rural America with high-speed Web access, these efforts will play a key role. The reason: Commercial operators don't want to lay cable and erect cell towers in the hinterland. Telecom and cable providers say they'll eventually reach the rural areas where 10 million Americans are stranded with dial-up access. But for communities wanting to ring in the 21st century sooner rather than later, municipal projects might be their best hope.