U.S. communities looking for faster broadband service than incumbent ISPs provide have alternatives to the increasingly controversial choice of seeking to publicly fund a network, according to a new handbook for city officials.
Public funding of broadband is just one of several possibilities, according to “The Next Generation Connectivity Handbook: a Guide for Community Leaders Seeking Affordable Abundant Bandwidth,” released Tuesday by Gig.U, a coalition of universities focused on building high-speed broadband networks, and the Benton Foundation, an advocacy group focused on media and telecom issues.
Most city officials say that their local broadband networks aren’t good enough in the long term, according to the report, which advises that “the time to begin thinking about faster speeds, more competition and better service is now. Network upgrades do not happen overnight.”
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