Government-owned broadband is costly — try these alternatives
According to a 2017 report from the University of Pennsylvania that studied 20 municipal broadband projects in the United States, "only two ‘earned enough to expect to cover their project costs during the useful life of the networks.’" Instead of having the government operate these broadband networks, one alternative is to "rely on private industry, which is expanding access at no cost or risk to taxpayers." Another alternative is for "governments to make broadband deployment cheaper and faster by streamlining state and local rules."