New Jersey town plans municipal broadband network

The mayor of the city of Vineland (NJ) says residents of his city are underserved by currently available broadband services. And he’s moving forward with a plan to create a municipal broadband network. This has already sparked lobbying against the prospect by a dark money group called the Taxpayers Protection Alliance Foundation. According to the city’s initial proposal, Vineland suffers from high economic distress with some areas having unemployment rates as high as 9% and poverty rates as high as 19.2%. The city says the incumbent providers have no plans to expand or enhance their services in Vineland. So, the city plans to tackle the problem itself by funding a $35-$40 million project to construct a municipally-owned fiber broadband network. It plans to construct a fiber ring around the city and make high-speed, competitively priced broadband available to every resident and business. The city has begun the process by commissioning a feasibility study—conducted by the open access fiber company Bonfire—which found that “at least 42% of the city does not have access to viable, quality service.”