ITIF Warns Against Local Government-Owned Broadband Networks in New Report
Local governments should reject calls to establish government-owned broadband networks (GON), said a new Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) report released Monday. The group evaluated the "finances, regulatory status, and economic sustainability" of 20 GONs and found that favoring…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
these networks "wastes societal resources, creates unfair competition, and is frequently unsustainable in the long run." Local governments "are not well equipped to build and operate broadband networks and are likely to waste the resources they employ," ITIF said. Although acknowledging GONs have a role in broadband deployment, the group urged that officials refrain from "selective deployment or cherry-picking" GONs over private ISPs to prevent overbuilding.