Municipal Broadband: It’s Your Choice

Municipal Broadband: It's Your Choice

Municipal broadband is the radical idea that consumers should have choice – and big corporate ISPs will stop at nothing to kill it.

Municipal broadband is the radical idea that consumers should have choice – and big corporate ISPs will stop at nothing to kill it.

Together with the American Legislative Exchange Council, the most powerful telecoms in the country have passed bad laws in 19 states to restrict local governments from offering essential telecommunications services to their residents. That means less choice and higher prices for consumers.

The FCC could set aside these bad laws and ensure a competitive marketplace. They could show big telecoms that their millions of lobbying money would be better spent on faster networks or better customer service.

Common Cause and others – including D.C. councilmembers Tommy Wells and David Grosso — called on the FCC to do the right thing and eliminate these barriers to competition. 

Unsurprisingly, the industry thinks this is a bad idea. They don’t want consumers to have an alternative to slow speeds, crummy service, and ever-higher bills. 

Even bigger than that, internet access is critical to our democracy. We communicate, connect, and mobilize online – if we let corporate monopolies make that harder, it hurts us all. Improving our communications ecosystem isn’t just good for consumers – it’s good for society.

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