Connecting the Unconnected with Open Access Infrastructure

Most Americans do not have much of a choice in Internet service providers, even in big cities. But for a lucky few, they have not only a robust gigabit connection but also a choice of many providers. This is most common in an arrangement called “open access.” Some 30 communities spread across the United States have embraced this model — where the local government builds a fiber-optic infrastructure and acts as a wholesaler, allowing independent Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to offer the actual service to households and businesses. If you live in one of the communities, the local government builds a fiber-optic connection to your home, but you get service from the ISP you choose and they pay a fee to the local government. Open access is a prospect for thousands of communities that want to improve Internet access but do not want to directly compete with established firms in the industry. 

[Amina Fazlullah was a 2017/18 Mozilla Fellow and is current policy counsel with Common Sense Media. Christopher Mitchell is the Director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance as well as the Director of Policy for Next Century Cities]