Small-Town Ingenuity Is Making Gigabit Broadband a Reality

The untold story of rural broadband is that over the past seven years, independent broadband networks have proliferated. Today, some of the fastest, most affordable internet in the country can be found in small communities. Despite small customer bases and razor-thin (or non-existent) margins, tenacious broadband providers across the country are proving that especially when unencumbered by competition-stifling legislation, they can bring world-class internet to their communities.

Congress should fund “dig once” processes that enable efficient construction of underground fiber during road construction projects, provide incentives for “climb once” processes that enable efficient fiber construction on private utility poles, and more generously fund construction of this kind of infrastructure just like it does for water and sewer capacity. And if the 21 states with laws that restrict competition from independent ISPs want to pursue modern economic development strategies to bring greater prosperity to their small towns, it is imperative they overturn those laws and allow their communities to innovate with the full power of broadband.

[Matt Dunne, a former Vermont state senator and previously head of community affairs at Google, is founder of the Center on Rural Innovation]