Julianne Tveten

It is frequently asserted that universal broadband access is an efficient means for people to secure not just access to the web but also education, jobs, and health care. But beneath this narrative’s egalitarian veneer, and politicians’ bromides about the virtue of participating in the “digital economy,” rest many of the canards about bootstrapping that helped cause these inequities in the first place.

The case for city-operated broadband is compelling. It offers comparatively fast service. It’s celebrated as a means by which to preserve net neutrality.