How to Build a Public Broadband Network

For decades, public broadband networks have been successfully serving hundreds of communities with fast, robust, and affordable internet access. Unlike private-sector networks, municipal, tribal, and other community- and member-owned broadband networks are focused on ensuring universal, robust connectivity at affordable prices. The results have been remarkable. Small cities and regions like Chattanooga, Tennessee; Wilson, North Carolina; Morgan, Utah; and the Massachusetts Berkshire region have been transformed into vibrant centers of economic opportunity, education, and culture. Yet for all of the progress that public broadband networks have made in recent years, there are still many communities that want to explore network ownership but don’t know where to begin. That’s why the American Association for Public Broadband (AAPB), partnering with the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, has developed a handbook that sets out, in simple terms, the key decisions a community and its leaders must make, as well as the concrete steps they must take to build a successful public network. Own Your Internet: How to Build a Public Broadband Network, authored by Bill Coleman, also provides a list of resources that can help with both—including law firms, financial advisors, public relations firms, construction firms, equipment vendors, grant applications and management platforms, operational and business support systems, and firms that design, build, and operate networks.

[Gigi Sohn is Executive Director of the American Association for Public Broadband and Benton Senior Fellow and Public Advocate]