New York City and the FCC have two very different plans for expanding broadband access

In its quest for solutions and partnerships, the New York City's Internet Master Plan is a sharp contrast to the Federal Communications Commission’s approach, which started with the idea that the primary tool for deploying next generation networks was deregulation, and that cities themselves were the major cause of most delays. Indeed, responding to a complaint that the committee the FCC appointed to advise on network deployments was composed almost entirely of industry representatives, a key FCC official said, “[W]e didn’t want to choose someone from, say, a municipality that needs a blueprint, because they’re not going to be the ones to help design that blueprint.”

As the New York plan makes clear, cities are a principal player in both planning and executing on a blueprint, gathering the necessary information, deploying new networks, covering existing gaps, and addressing the challenge of ensuring next generation broadband networks are available and affordable for all. New York City’s plan is a path that all cities, regardless of their unique characteristics, can learn from.

[Levin is a nonresident senior fellow with the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings. He serves as the executive director of Gig.U: The Next Generation Network Innovation Project, an initiative of three dozen leading research university communities seeking to support educational and economic development by accelerating the deployment of next generation networks. At the Federal Communications Commission, he oversaw the development of a National Broadband Plan.]