New York City Has ‘a Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity’ to Create an Internet for All

Troy Walcott, a 39-year-old cable technician, felt vindicated in July when New York moved to expel his employer, Charter Communications, for allegedly failing to keep its promises to the state. “I shouted to myself,” Walcott said about hearing the news. “We’ve been speaking so long about the company’s wrongdoing, and people have agreed with [us], but nothing has been done.” Not only could the state action soften Charter’s resistance to the union, it has also further opened the door for Walcott and other strikers to launch a cooperative Internet provider or for the city to create a municipally owned network of its own. Advocates say either model could improve broadband service across the city, offering reduced cost, expanded access, good jobs, and a chance to ensure net neutrality in New York. Christopher Mitchell, who leads a community-broadband initiative at the Institute for Local Self Reliance, calls the situation with Charter a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for New York City. “We don’t want these deadbeat cable companies to be failing constantly,” he said.