Six Community Broadband Networks

One might think this is the moment for community broadband networks. The truth is, locally-directed networks have been serving their communities for a long, long time. In discussing his administration’s plans for broadband, President Joe Biden noted that municipal and cooperative networks should be favored because these providers face less pressure to turn profits and are more committed to serving entire communities. The Biden administration sees value in creating competition in underbuilt markets dominated by monopoly providers and recognizes that community-owned networks tend to drive down prices for high-speed internet service—even for those subscribers who choose to stick with the large incumbent providers. MuniNetworks.org—the Institute for Local Self-Reliance clearinghouse of information about local government broadband policy—has published thousands of stories about municipal networks and conducted hundreds of interviews with those who have built, operated, or worked in the ecosystem. But for someone trying to get a sense of the range of municipal broadband approaches, there is no single document that encapsulates the variety of models. In Six Community Broadband Networks Demonstrate Diversity of Approaches to Connectivity Challenges, we offer a taste of the variety.