Municipal Broadband: Background and Policy Debate Page: 2 of 17
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Municipal Broadband: Background and Policy Debate
Summary
Since the late 1990s, broadband Internet service has been deployed in the United States, primarily
by private sector providers. While broadband deployment has been rapid and robust overall, there
remain communities that are dissatisfied with their broadband service. Some of these
communities have turned to public entities as possible broadband providers, with the expectation
that municipal broadband networks (also referred to as "community broadband") can deliver
superior levels of speed, performance, and/or affordability than what is currently offered by
private providers. Public entities that provide broadband service can be local governments or
public utilities, for example, and may construct and manage broadband networks either solely or
in partnership with private companies. There are a number of municipal broadband models that
have been implemented across the nation. Since each community is different and each faces
unique challenges, there is no one size that fits all.
Municipal broadband is controversial, because it involves governmental entities entering a
commercial telecommunications marketplace that had previously been the exclusive domain of
private sector providers. Supporters of municipal broadband argue that in view of substandard
broadband service, communities and local governments should be able to provide this service to
meet their citizens' needs and to support the community's economic development. Municipal
broadband opponents argue that public entities are ill-equipped to efficiently develop, operate,
and maintain commercial broadband networks, and that municipally owned and supported
broadband networks constitute unfair competition to private sector providers, which may
ultimately impede private investment in broadband infrastructure.
With under 500 municipalities across the nation embarking on some form of municipal
broadband, 20 states have passed laws placing restrictions (or in some cases, bans) on local
broadband networks. The issue for Congress is whether municipal broadband should be promoted
or discouraged, and more specifically, whether those state restrictions on municipal broadband
should be overridden or affirmed.
On March 12, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Memorandum
Opinion and Order granting the petitions filed by two municipal broadband providers in Wilson,
NC, and Chattanooga, TN, to preempt state laws in their respective states that restricted the
expansion of community broadband services. The Order and the decision by the FCC to rely on
Section 706 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act for its authority remain controversial. Both
states have filed petitions for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals, challenging the FCC's
authority to preempt these restrictions.
Three bills (S. 240, S. 597, and H.R. 1106) have been introduced and one draft measure has been
released in the 114th Congress addressing the municipal broadband debate. The role of municipal
broadband and the appropriate role of the states and the FCC to address the relationship between
the public and private sector is just one facet in the overall debate regarding broadband
deployment. Whether municipal broadband should be encouraged or restricted is one of the many
policies that Congress continues to consider.Congressional Research Service
c11173008
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Municipal Broadband: Background and Policy Debate, report, June 18, 2015; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc817984/m1/2/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.