As the new year begins, theInstitute for Local Self-Reliance(ILSR) announced today its latest tally of municipal broadband networks which shows a dramatic surge in the number of communities building publicly-owned, locally controlled high-speed Internet infrastructure over the last three years.

Since January 1, 2021, at least 47 new municipal networks have come online with dozens of other projects still in the planning or pre-construction phase, which includes thepossibility of building 40 new municipal networks in California alone.

Ry Marcattilio, Associate Director for Research withILSRs Community Broadband Networks Initiative, said the latest wave of new municipal networks runs the gamut fromconduit-only networkslike the one inWest Des Moines, Iowathat brought Google Fiber, Mediacom, Lumen and local ISP Mi-Fiber to town to offer residents a choice of broadband providers; institutional networks such as theI-net the city of Alexandria, Va. builtto serve local government operations, setting the stage for the city topartner with Tingin providing fiber-to-the-home service citywide; to open-access networks likeYellowstone Fiberin Bozeman, Montana; as well as the massive municipal fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networkunder construction in Knoxville, Tenn.

The latter network is already offering service to Knoxville residents and businesses, though it will take seven to 10 years before theKnoxville Utilities Board(KUB) finishes building out the entire KUB Fiber network passing all 210,000 households in its 688-square-mile service area. Once completed,KUB Fiberwill be one of the largest municipal broadband networks in the nation, rivaling its Chattanooga neighborEPB Fiberand the multi-state footprint ofUTOPIA Fiber.

Inside The Numbers: Enough is Enough

From the Midwest to the Deep South, East Coast to West, weve seen an incredible amount of new energy by cities over the last two years, said Marcattilio, Associate Director for Research with ILSRs Community Broadband Networks Initiative.

Dozens of cities, ranging from five thousand and a hundred thousand residents alike, have decided that enough is enough. Instead of pleading with, or giving additional handouts to the monopoly ISPs, theyve decided to invest in themselves. Its exciting to see so much happening, especially since we know our numbers are not completely exhaustive as there are no doubt cities building networks that have not yet become active or reported service to the FCC.

The latest ILSR tally does not include the plethora of other community broadband networks such asmember-owned electric cooperativesdeploying fiber networks in many hundreds of rural communities across the nation. It also does not include therising number of Tribal Nationsbuilding and operating their own networks to bridge the digital divide in some of the least connected parts of the country.

ILSR last tallied the number of existing municipal networks in 2021. At that time, there were approximately400 municipal broadband networksserving some 600 communities, with nearly 1 in 3 serving nearly every address in the community.

The 47 new municipal networks have been added to ILSRs database, as an increasing number of local communities look to build publicly-owned, locally controlled broadband infrastructure amid a growing public demand for choice and competition among Internet service providers (ISPs).

Christopher Mitchell, who has spearheaded ILSRs effort to track the birth and development of community broadband across the U.S. for the past 16 years as Director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative, said:

The monopoly cable and telephone companies frequently claim that there are no problems with broadband in the U.S., even as millions of students cannot access the Internet from their homes, whether in rural or urban areas. These cities remind us of the work that has to be done to make sure everyone can take advantage of modern technologies.

Overcoming Challenges

The growing success of local communities in establishing municipal broadband systems to deliver ubiquitous, affordable, high-quality Internet connectivity hasnt gone unnoticed by Big Cable and the Telecom Titans who consider municipal broadband an existential threat to their bottom lines.

Dark money campaigns, often funded by the big monopoly incumbents, have been popping up across the country in an effort to persuade local officials and residents to reject municipal broadband proposals, prompting theAmerican Association for Public Broadbandto issuealerts to shed light on the misinformationat the center of these campaigns.

Yet, despiteefforts to undermine municipal broadband, in the years to come we expect more communities will join the rising tide of local leaders, residents, and businesses calling for an alternative to the private monopoly model in addressing local connectivity needs.

Here are a few snapshots of new municipal broadband networks that have been lit up for service over the last three years:

Sherburne, NY (Sherburne Connect)

One offour municipalities in New York State splitting $10 millionfrom the states initialConnectALLmunicipal grant program, the Village of Sherburne (est. pop. 1,300) along with three other municipalities (the towns of Nichols, Diana and Pitcairn) were awarded the funds to build municipal-owned fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks.

In Sherburne, the villages municipal utility, Sherburne Electric, worked with the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to extend NYPAs existing middle mile fiber network to bring last-mile fiber service to the villages 1,800 homes and businesses.

The open access network, known asSherburne Connect, offers residentstwo different ISPsfrom which to choose: Fybercom and FiberSpark. Both offer a symmetrical 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) service for $10/month or symmetrical gig speed service for between $30 and $45/month.

With village residents now getting service, thetestimonialsare beginning to pour in with one couple saying the network has brought us to the 21st Century, giving them affordable access to high-speed Internet.

Waterloo, Iowa (Waterloo Fiber)

Construction of theWaterloo Fibernetwork began last summer with agroundbreaking ceremonyhosted by Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart.

A year ago, the city was putting the finishing touches on a plan to spend $115 million to build a fiber network that passes all 67,695 Waterloo residents, after locals approved the city issuing general obligation bonds to fund the start of the three-phase project.

Waterloo officials recently launchedtheir first limited fiber trial with plans to connect its first commercial customers in February.

The project is on target to deploy affordable fiber service at speeds of up to 10 gigabit per second (Gbps) citywide by 2026.

Competing against the likes of CenturyLink and MediaCom, Waterloo Fiber isoffering residential subscriberssymmetrical 100 Mbps service for $30/month; 300 Mbps service for $50/month; symmetrical 1 Gbps service for $70 a month; or symmetrical 10 Gbps service for $110 a month. Business subscribers have the option of symmetrical 300 Mbps service for $110 a month, symmetrical 1 Gbps for $250; or symmetrical 10 Gbps for $290 a month.

Central Vermont Communication Union District (CV Fiber)

The Central Vermont CUD, one of the states10 Communication Union Districtsestablished to provide telecommunication service to most towns across the Granite State,connected its first fiber-to-the-home subscriberin October 2023 in the town of Calais.Construction crews have now built outthe network into East Montpelier and Worcester, now moving on to Woodbury and Middlesex before expanding into the other 14 towns in CVFibers service area.

In late 2022,CVFiberbroke ground on an ambitious plan to build a 1,200-mile fiber-optic network to bring affordable gigabit broadband access to 6,000 rural Vermont addresses deemed underserved by commercial broadband providers. Total network construction is expected to cost $60 million, $27 million of which is being paid for by federal grants made possible by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

The remaining cost is expected to be funded by network revenue, loans, and future grant opportunities.

CVFiberoffers subscriberssymmetrical 100 Mbps service for $79 a month; symmetrical 500 Mbps service for $99 a month; symmetrical gigabit service for $129 a month; and symmetrical 2 Gbps service for $199 a month.

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New Municipal Broadband Networks Skyrocket in Post-Pandemic America As Alternative To Private Monopoly Model - Institute for Local Self-Reliance