About

Own Your Own Public Network was written by Bill Coleman for American Association for Public Broadband and published by the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

Bill Coleman supports community economic development and broadband initiatives through innovative training, planning, and implementation programs. Prior to creating Community Technology Advisors in 2000, he was a market development manager for a rural-focused regional telecommunications provider. Prior to that, he was a lead staffer with the Minnesota Star City Program, a state-sponsored community economic development program. Bill combines his past education and wide career experience in urban studies, community economic development, and telecommunications to help communities develop and pursue their prosperity vision.

Bill currently serves as community broadband coach for the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society in its Illinois Connected Communities, Accelerate, and Broadband Breakthrough programs.

American Association for Public Broadband (AAPB) proudly represents community-owned broadband networks and co-ops that are fueling the nation’s economic future through reliable high-speed internet access. With more than 650+ networks across 33 states, public––or municipal broadband––is answering America’s call for reliable, affordable, and accessible internet for all.

Founded by Gigi Sohn in 2022, AAPB is a membership-driven organization. Becoming a member of AAPB gives you exclusive access to powerful advocacy efforts and broadband industry thought leaders. By joining us, you will gain visibility into a fast-growing sector of the broadband industry and learn from the nation’s most-successful publicly-owned broadband networks. You’ll also participate in educational programs and have the opportunity to showcase your methodologies, products or services.

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society recognizes that high-speed, affordable broadband is the infrastructure of opportunity. Their goal is to bring open, affordable, high-performance broadband to all people in the U.S. to ensure a thriving democracy. Benton believes that communications policy—rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity—has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

To help foster a more informed and inclusive debate around communications policy, Benton curates and distributes the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest of broadband news. Subscribe and receive your first digest in the morning.