What is municipal broadband?

Robin Layton
RL
Robin Layton

Nov 22, 2024 — 3 min read

Community-based public internet providers see success in some states, are banned in others.

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Municipal broadband has caused a stir among internet service providers and government agencies. It is an internet network owned by public entities instead of private companies that is centered around providing communities with a public-owned, affordable internet option. Setting up such a community broadband network isn’t allowed in several states.

New York is a success story in municipal broadband, having launched pilot projects in 2022 and receiving new federal funding for another municipal project in 2024. Iowa and Vermont also have successful programs.

The trend is growing, with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance reporting that an average of 15 new networks are added each year over the last decade. The institute provides a map of all municipal networks as well.

With the disbursement of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, the legal and financial landscape for municipal broadband projects has never been more uncertain. Significant changes via state and federal regulations are underway, both to hinder and to help cities and towns interested in growing their internet network.

Pros and cons of community broadband

Benefits

  • Extends better access equity to rural areas and other populated locations that don’t represent profit potential to private companies

  • Can provide affordable broadband internet access in locations that may only have minimal or prohibitively expensive alternatives

  • Expanding internet access creates jobs and boosts remote work in rural areas

Drawbacks

  • Lack of profit incentive can lead to reduced efficiency in infrastructure expenditures, leading to greater costs

  • Significant debt assumed due to large upfront costs (infrastructure and more)

  • Municipal internet projects tend to be charged significantly higher rates for pole attachments (the cost charged by utility companies to attach lines to and use their infrastructure)

How common are municipal internet providers?

According to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, there are currently 447 municipal broadband networks in the U.S. The development of these programs is relatively recent, with the last decade seeing their primary push so far.

One of the biggest success stories has happened in Chattanooga, which was the first to offer gigabit speeds through its community network. Not only has the infrastructure remained strong enough to handle a combination of high demand and fast speeds, but the city has also managed to charge roughly half of what private companies did for similar speeds.

Prices and speeds vary significantly between municipalities and providers, but prices around $50/mo. are standard, as are speed ranges of 25 Mbps to 1 Gbps. Below are examples of municipal broadband providers currently operating and offering cheap broadband for residents.

Legal challenges facing municipal internet projects

There are a handful of states that currently have legal roadblocks in place for municipal broadband projects, but some are in the process of contesting or changing those laws. Right now, there are 53 million households in 17 states that have laws restricting municipal broadband:

At the federal level, lawmakers are divided on municipal internet providers. Some Congress members favor paving the way for more municipal broadband projects, both financially and legally. In contrast, others have recently introduced bills to ban the entire practice at a federal level. If that were to happen, municipal broadband could become illegal in every state.

Federal funding impacts municipal broadband

In late 2021, Congress passed H.R.3684, also known as the Infrastructure and Investment and Jobs Act. The bill allocated significant sums of money to facilitate broadband access and affordability to U.S. households, including more than $40 billion on the BEAD program.

The federal law says that states “may not exclude” local networks from accessing the funding, but the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) — the organization responsible for distributing funds to states — has said it won’t delay funding to states with preexisting laws restricting municipal broadband.

The creation of BEAD has pushed public broadband into the national spotlight like never before. For now, states are scrambling to study related issues and put relevant legislation into place to keep up with federal requirements, citizen internet needs and private ISP stakeholder concerns. As this issue evolves over the coming years, the state-level responses and the successes and failures of municipal internet projects will become more apparent.

For researchers and journalists

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Robin Layton

Written by:

Robin Layton

Senior Editor, Broadband Content

Robin Layton is a Senior Editor for Allconnect, dedicated to helping consumers navigate the often-complex world of internet service providers. With 30 years of experience in journalism and marketing, Robin empow… Read more

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