Wilson, North Carolina built its own internet company

Wilson (NC) has had city-wide high-speed fiberoptic internet since 2008. “In Wilson, we see high-speed broadband as infrastructure,” said Grant Goings, Wilson City Manager. Everything started in 2006 when Goings spearheaded a municipal broadband project after he said private telecommunications companies would not invest in high-speed internet in their area. The city would treat broadband internet like any public utility, such as water or electricity, where residents would pay the city for its service if they want it. After just two years, Wilson’s city-run internet and cable company, Greenlight Community Broadband, was up and running. When the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, many of the rural Wilson County’s 81,000 residents found that their network's 600 miles of fiber lines kept their internet connected almost seamlessly. While many states have restrictions on municipal broadband projects and critics fear unfair competition, public-private partnerships that utilize American Rescue Plan covid relief funds could bring the municipal network solutions cities and counties are looking for.