Universal Broadband

It is an era of unprecedented interest in broadband as a platform of economic and community development. Advanced communications networks are increasingly recognized as a growing engine for economic activity, democratic participation, healthcare, and education. Local governments, in particular, increasingly embrace opportunities to develop next-generation broadband in their communities—and to reap the many benefits that broadband will deliver to their residents and businesses. Emerging public–private partnership (P3) models present a promising alternative to the traditional “municipal broadband” or “middle mile” models for the many communities that lack the capital or expertise to deploy and operate fiber networks, or to act as Internet service providers (ISPs) on their own. These models include: 1) Public facilitation of private investment, 2) Public funding and private execution, and 2) Shared investment and risk.

Approximately 140,000+ rural homes across four states -- West Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee -- have improved broadband access, due in part to Frontier and the Federal Communications Commission’s Connect America Fund (CAF) investments. Impacted states include. With 134,000 homes, West Virginia saw the bulk of these broadband improvements. The CAF directly funded new broadband expansion to 16,900 homes there, with an additional 117,000 households seeing improved broadband capability.

Daryl Parks, the attorney representing "Cleveland Broadband Consumers" claiming AT&T is "redlining" service in Cleveland and elsewhere, is pledging to open a multi-front legal attack on the company, including raising questions about its fitness for the multi-billion-dollar contract to manage FirstNet.

AT&T has said it does not redline and continues to invest in wired and wireless broadband in Cleveland and elsewhere, but Parks is not persuaded. Parks has sent a letter to AT&T and its board warning that "in the near future" he plans to certify a class for a class action lawsuit, bring a formal redlining complaint at the FCC, and "raise with the nation’s governors the issue of AT&T’s suitability to manage the emergency communications service FirstNet, given the urgency of providing service to low-income communities by first responders in disasters such as Hurricanes Andrew, Katrina and Sandy."