Portland Is Again Blazing Trails for Open Internet Access

The tussle over "network neutrality" started 20 years ago in Portland (OR). Today, Portland and its region are poised to be Ground Zero for resolving the real issues behind public concern over “net neutrality”—the stagnant, uncompetitive, hopelessly outclassed state of internet access in America. Portland is taking seriously the idea of a publicly overseen dark-fiber network over which private providers could compete to offer cheap, ubiquitous internet access. A grassroots group called Municipal Broadband PDX is agitating for construction of a publicly owned open-access fiber network across the region. Citizen advisory committees will play a crucial role in the Portland region when it comes to planning for publicly overseen dark fiber.

[Susan Crawford is a professor at Harvard Law School]