Municipal Networks

Fiber cities know the difference between publicly overseen networks, aimed at providing a utility service, and wholly private, “demand-driven” communications networks. There is no single meaning of the word utility, but the concept is familiar to many people. The basic idea is that a utility is a service that 1) relies on a physical network of some kind and 2) is a basic input into both domestic and economic life. A utility is not a luxury.

From Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Santa Monica, California, hundreds of communities in the U.S. have been able to provide consumers and businesses with affordable broadband over locally owned and controlled fiber and coaxial networks. But San Francisco, the epicenter of the digital revolution, can’t match the success of these smaller municipalities, many with far fewer resources and civic wealth. San Francisco is not alone.

The City of Tacoma (WA) is engaged in an effort to ensure that our public broadband network, Click!, continues to support our community well for decades to come. My colleagues and I recognize that we, like all American cities, stand on the front lines of efforts to achieve equity and opportunity. And, as broadband internet becomes a more critical foundational element of our economy and a vital tool for democratic engagement, our efforts must extend to ensuring it is deployed in a way that supports our efforts.

The Baltimore (MD) City Council is considering asking voters to block the sale of Baltimore’s 700-mile, century-old underground conduit system, a move supporters say could encourage a public broadband system in the future. The terra cotta system dates to 1898 and contains telephone, electric and fiber-optic cables. Owning the system leaves open the possibly for the city to create a public broadband network. Council President Bernard C.

What should be the broadband agenda for infrastructure legislation? Here are some key principles.

Despite the tremendous innovation in fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) networks over the last decade, growing bandwidth demands from households and enterprise business applications are likely to exceed today’s Gigabit Passive Optical Networks (GPON) network capacity levels in the near future.

Municial broadband initiatives across the country seem to be gaining steam as cities look to encourage equitable access — but pitfalls around cost and taxpayer risk remain. Despite many cities and counties looking to put together a municipal broadband initiative of their own, there remains strong opposition from telecom companies, as well as concerns over cost.

In Jan, Gov Phil Bryant (R-MS) signed off on a bill by the Mississippi Legislature that gave  approval for electric cooperatives in the state to provide broadband internet service. The Mississippi Broadband Enabling Act, however, was just the first step. The co-ops must now find ways to fund such projects.  Michael Callahan, CEO of Electric Cooperatives of Mississippi, said getting the co-ops to expand into internet service will be a “tough process.” “We’re doing our due diligence,” he said. “We’re all looking at this, spending money on surveys, doing studies, talking to consultants ...

The Georgia state senate unanimously passed a bill Feb 25 aimed at making it easier for telecommunications companies to extend small-cell wireless broadband, the latest iteration of the technology, along public rights of way. Meanwhile, separate bills allowing Georgia's electric membership corporations to enter the broadband business, aimed primarily to increase broadband capacity in rural counties, also has cleared the House and won approval in a Senate committee.

Many complain about the price of cable, but few realize that key culprits can be state and local franchising authorities (LFAs), whose taxes, fees, and surcharges on top of the basic price can account for 20 percent or more of the total price. Operators need to secure a franchise agreement to build and run cable service, and that can entail acceding to all types of demands from LFAs over and above the franchise fees that operators have to pay under federal law.