What Are the Best Roles for the Public Sector in Broadband Infrastructure?

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), infrastructure “includes, at a minimum, the structures, facilities, and equipment for roads, highways and bridges; public transportation; dams, ports, harbors, and other maritime facilities; intercity passenger and freight railroads; freight and intermodal facilities; airports; water systems, including drinking water and wastewater systems; electrical transmission facilities and systems; utilities; broadband infrastructure; and buildings and real property; and structures, facilities, and equipment that generate, transport, and distribute energy including electric vehicle (EV) charging.” 

City, county, and state governments are often the primary infrastructure providers—roads, sewer and water systems, and airports and ports are prominent examples. Beyond these traditional infrastructures, the public sector is also quite adept in delivering electrical services. According to the American Public Power Association, one in seven Americans, representing more than 2,000 communities, are served by public power utilities, with lower rates and higher reliability than investor-owned utilities. According to Statista, there are more than 450 municipal electric utilities in the United States.

Existing municipal electric utilities are likely to diversify into broadband services for the following reasons:

• They already deliver utility services to the entire community, often with an excellent track record.
• They have existing back office, technical support, billing systems, utility poles, and trained technicians.
• Fiber-optic and/or wireless networks are already used to connect substations and meters due to growing requirements for smart grid management and to monitor smart meters and connected electric devices, including electric cars and solar systems.
• Electric utility policymakers recognize the community benefits of locally owned utilities.

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance calculates that there are approximately 450 community-owned networks in the United States. In addition, there are an additional 200 or more cooperatives offering broadband services, many of them delivering services across wide swaths of America, including both small communities and the rural countryside.