Gigabit Internet


The president today formally opposed measures that limit municipal broadband, and the White House urged the Federal Communications Commission to take up the issue by "addressing barriers inhibiting local communities from responding to the broadband needs of their citizens."

"I believe that a community has a right to make its own choice and to provide its own broadband if it wants to," Obama said during a speech in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

The municipal broadband issue is, in fact, already on the FCC's radar. In June, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler championed the idea of city-run networks, pointing to Chattanooga, Tenn. as a good example.

A February report from Ars Technica found that 20 states, including California, Florida, and Washington, have laws that make it difficult, if not impossible, for cities to start their own broadband networks. Last year, meanwhile, Vice highlighted deals that cable firms have inked with cities that prevent those cities from creating municipally owned networks if the ISPs agree to build networks there.

Wheeler is not a fan. "The facts speak for themselves: competition works – when it is allowed to," he wrote in a blog post last year. "Throughout the country where we have seen competitive broadband providers come in to a market, prices have gone down and broadband speeds have gone up. No wonder incumbent broadband providers want to legislate rather than innovate."

Today, Obama agreed. He also pointed to Chattanooga as an example of a successful municipal broadband network, and selected Cedar Falls for his speech because of its city-run gigabit Internet network.

"You are almost 100 times faster than the national average," Obama told those gathered at Cedar Falls Utilities, "and you can log on for about the same price as some folks pay for a fully loaded cable bundle."

"Only about half of rural Americans can log on at that super-fast rate," Obama said. "If folks do have good, fast Internet, chances are they only have one provider to pick from."

That's important, the president said, because "high-speed broadband is not a luxury, it's a necessity. This isn't just about making it easier to stream Netflix or scroll through your Facebook news feed...this is about helping local business grow and prosper and compete...with the folks in Silicon Valley or across the globe."

Obama highlighted a few other steps he is taking to "clear away red tape, foster competition, and help communities succeed," like: asking federal agencies to investigate regulations that slow broadband expansion and report back within six months; requiring the Commerce Department to offer support and tech assistance to those cities that want to explore gigabit Internet networks; ordering the Agriculture Department to come up with new loan opportunities for rural providers; and hosting a community broadband summit for mayors this summer.

Municipal networks, meanwhile, have had their ups and downs. For example, Google Fiber is rolling out in Provo, Utah because Google purchased the struggling iProvo, a city-owned fiber-optic network.

"But a review of the record shows far more successes than failures," Chairman Wheeler said last year. "If the people, acting through their elected local governments, want to pursue competitive community broadband, they shouldn't be stopped by state laws promoted by cable and telephone companies that don't want that competition."

His colleague, Republican Commissioner Michael O'Rielly, saw things differently today, and called on the FCC to "reject this blatant and unnecessary interference designed to further a political goal."

"Substantively, this missive is completely without statutory authority and would be a good candidate for court review, if adopted," he continued. "In reality, this debate is about preempting a state's right to prevent taxpayer rip-offs. Municipal broadband has never proven to be the panacea that supporters claim and the Administration now boasts. Instead, we have seen a long track record of projects costing more than expected and delivering less than promised."

For more, see Broadband Needs Obama's Help.