What Comes Next? A Community-Centered Approach to Legacy Network Retirement

On February 10th, Next Century Cities released "What Comes Next? A Community-Centered Approach to Legacy Network Retirement," a paper that advocates for the Federal Communications Commission to revisit consumer-protection safeguards to guide legacy telecommunications network retirement. The report also highlights direct connections between rural electrification in the early 20th century and our modern broadband Internet marketplace. Major points include:

• Promoting Competition – Currently, about 88.3 million people across the United States lack access to more than one broadband provider. New rules should guarantee a reasonable alternative exists for broadband customers and that they are provided adequate time to investigate and adopt a new broadband service.
• Protecting Public Safety – While many people rely on the internet for connections to critical 911 services, telemedicine appointments, and time-sensitive updates from officials. Re-introducing consumer protection measures from the FCC’s 2015 Retirement Order will help keep the most vulnerable populations connected.
• Empowering Local Leaders – Residents depend on a fast, affordable, and reliable broadband connection to live their everyday lives, and when something goes wrong, they turn to their local officials. With active steps, the FCC can tap into municipal-level expertise and provide local leaders with legitimate seats at the table to develop policy that shapes the next generation of broadband upgrades and deployment.