Communities Join Forces For Broadband

Regional efforts to develop broadband infrastructure are becoming more common.

• In Maine, Calais and Baileyville, two small towns at the eastern tip of the state, are collaborating to create the Downeast Broadband Utility. The dark fiber network will belong to the regional utility, a nonprofit corporation formed for public benefit.
• A group of coastal, rural Virginia communities are enjoying better connectivity. Two counties, along with a nearby NASA facility, launched an effort to fund a fixed wireless and fiber-to-the-home network that is incrementally expanding to more premises.
• In Skagit County (WA), north of Seattle, the cities of Mount Vernon and Burlington own and operate fiber optic networks, and Anacortes is building out infrastructure. Public entities in Skagit County are now collaborating to develop a countywide infrastructure and provide a boost to economic development.

[Lisa Gonzalez is a senior researcher at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance]