Editor’s Note: Colorado successfully removed the requirement for local municipalities to hold a referendum before establishing local broadband service in early May 2023. SB23-183 was signed into law by governor Jared Polis, eliminating the previous restriction that had been in place since 2005. For decades, municipal broadband operations have been subject to a minefield of … Continued
For decades, municipal broadband operations have been subject to a minefield of restrictions and barriers designed to make the prospect of establishing or maintaining a community broadband network costly, difficult, and unsustainable. There are currently 17 states in total that have restrictive legislation against municipal broadband networks in the U.S. To explore further, see a … Continued
Editor’s Note: this report has been updated to reflect the passing of Washington state’s bill. Over the past year, the broadband sector has come into the forefront of public discourse, with millions of Americans struggling to stay online amidst the pandemic. In many communities, local governments have turned to creating their own solutions where private … Continued
States without municipal broadband restrictions have lower internet prices on average. Over the past year, several promising developments have been made on the municipal broadband front. Two states were successful in repealing their municipal broadband bans, bringing our tally down to 22 states from 25 states identified in our 2019 report. Those law changes are … Continued
Editor’s Note: this report has been updated. This report was updated on 12/19/2019 based on information received from the Massachusetts Broadband Institute. Municipal broadband has become an increasingly important and polarizing topic as repercussions of the digital divide continue to plague rural communities across the U.S. Municipal broadband refers to broadband networks owned and operated … Continued
Missouri is an agricultural state, with farms covering two-thirds of the state’s total land acreage, supporting an $88 billion industry. The state’s large rural areas lack access to high-speed broadband. According to the FCC’s 2019 Broadband Deployment Progress Report, over half of Missouri residents in rural areas of the state lack access to broadband at … Continued
Across the nation, community fiber providers are raising the standards for excellence in the broadband industry. Fiber customers are the happiest with their service overall in the entire broadband industry, and it’s no wonder why that is; the technology offers the fastest speeds and the most stable connection, and it’s also future-proofed for the networking … Continued
A State-By-State Breakdown Of Municipal Broadband Roadblocks In 2019 Editor’s Note: this report has been updated. As of 2018, lawmakers have passed legislation that removed state restrictions on limiting publicly-owned broadband networks for California residents. We have removed the state from our total count as a result. We have also published a follow-up to this … Continued
25 State Laws that Protect Corporate Interests and Impede Competition Disclaimer: this report has been updated. For updated information, please see our 2018 Municipal Broadband State Laws Report. 34 million Americans don’t have access to broadband Internet. In fact, 62 percent of those who can get broadband only have one provider to “choose” from. This … Continued
19 State Laws That Stop Your City From Installing Blazing Fast Internet Disclaimer: this report has been updated. For updated information, please see our 2016 Municipal Broadband Report. According to FCC data released in 2013, over 39 million Americans have less than 2 wired broadband providers they can get broadband service from. Our team at … Continued