*In partnership with Broadband Breakfast, we occasionally republish each other's content. The following story by Broadband Breakfast Reporter Taormina Falsitta was originally published here.

Experts expressed concern that federal support for municipal broadband is limited, prompting uncertainty about future funding and operational sustainability at a Fiber for Breakfast event Wednesday.

Tyler Cooper, editor-in-chief of Broadband Now, a website that provides resources for internet providers, said that Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants are less promising for municipal broadband deployments despite initial promises.

Image

"We want to make sure BEAD funding areas have a vibrant competitive marketplace for decades to come," said Cooper. “It is here that I think municipal providers stand to make the most impact over time.”

“Municipal providers have been a lifeline to residents in these areas. They spur competition and innovation, they build future-proof technologies, primarily fiber, and they're more in tune in general with the needs of their communities than other providers.”

However, Cooper expressed concern that BEAD rules and requirements may not favor municipal networks, potentially favoring larger ISPs. BEAD has “become a much less promising vehicle for deploying municipal broadband nationwide.”

[See our recent story here on how local officials are seeing this play out in Massachusetts]  

*In partnership with Broadband Breakfast, we occasionally republish each other's content. The following story by Broadband Breakfast Reporter Taormina Falsitta was originally published here.

Experts expressed concern that federal support for municipal broadband is limited, prompting uncertainty about future funding and operational sustainability at a Fiber for Breakfast event Wednesday.

Tyler Cooper, editor-in-chief of Broadband Now, a website that provides resources for internet providers, said that Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants are less promising for municipal broadband deployments despite initial promises.

Image

"We want to make sure BEAD funding areas have a vibrant competitive marketplace for decades to come," said Cooper. “It is here that I think municipal providers stand to make the most impact over time.”

“Municipal providers have been a lifeline to residents in these areas. They spur competition and innovation, they build future-proof technologies, primarily fiber, and they're more in tune in general with the needs of their communities than other providers.”

However, Cooper expressed concern that BEAD rules and requirements may not favor municipal networks, potentially favoring larger ISPs. BEAD has “become a much less promising vehicle for deploying municipal broadband nationwide.”

[See our recent story here on how local officials are seeing this play out in Massachusetts]  

*In partnership with Broadband Breakfast, we occasionally republish each other's content. The following story by Broadband Breakfast Reporter Taormina Falsitta was originally published here.

Experts expressed concern that federal support for municipal broadband is limited, prompting uncertainty about future funding and operational sustainability at a Fiber for Breakfast event Wednesday.

Tyler Cooper, editor-in-chief of Broadband Now, a website that provides resources for internet providers, said that Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants are less promising for municipal broadband deployments despite initial promises.

Image

"We want to make sure BEAD funding areas have a vibrant competitive marketplace for decades to come," said Cooper. “It is here that I think municipal providers stand to make the most impact over time.”

“Municipal providers have been a lifeline to residents in these areas. They spur competition and innovation, they build future-proof technologies, primarily fiber, and they're more in tune in general with the needs of their communities than other providers.”

However, Cooper expressed concern that BEAD rules and requirements may not favor municipal networks, potentially favoring larger ISPs. BEAD has “become a much less promising vehicle for deploying municipal broadband nationwide.”

[See our recent story here on how local officials are seeing this play out in Massachusetts]  

*In partnership with Broadband Breakfast, we occasionally republish each other's content. The following story by Broadband Breakfast Reporter Taormina Falsitta was originally published here.

Experts expressed concern that federal support for municipal broadband is limited, prompting uncertainty about future funding and operational sustainability at a Fiber for Breakfast event Wednesday.

Tyler Cooper, editor-in-chief of Broadband Now, a website that provides resources for internet providers, said that Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants are less promising for municipal broadband deployments despite initial promises.

Image

"We want to make sure BEAD funding areas have a vibrant competitive marketplace for decades to come," said Cooper. “It is here that I think municipal providers stand to make the most impact over time.”

“Municipal providers have been a lifeline to residents in these areas. They spur competition and innovation, they build future-proof technologies, primarily fiber, and they're more in tune in general with the needs of their communities than other providers.”

However, Cooper expressed concern that BEAD rules and requirements may not favor municipal networks, potentially favoring larger ISPs. BEAD has “become a much less promising vehicle for deploying municipal broadband nationwide.”

[See our recent story here on how local officials are seeing this play out in Massachusetts]  

*In partnership with Broadband Breakfast, we occasionally republish each other's content. The following story by Broadband Breakfast Reporter Taormina Falsitta was originally published here.

Experts expressed concern that federal support for municipal broadband is limited, prompting uncertainty about future funding and operational sustainability at a Fiber for Breakfast event Wednesday.

Tyler Cooper, editor-in-chief of Broadband Now, a website that provides resources for internet providers, said that Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants are less promising for municipal broadband deployments despite initial promises.

Image

"We want to make sure BEAD funding areas have a vibrant competitive marketplace for decades to come," said Cooper. “It is here that I think municipal providers stand to make the most impact over time.”

“Municipal providers have been a lifeline to residents in these areas. They spur competition and innovation, they build future-proof technologies, primarily fiber, and they're more in tune in general with the needs of their communities than other providers.”

However, Cooper expressed concern that BEAD rules and requirements may not favor municipal networks, potentially favoring larger ISPs. BEAD has “become a much less promising vehicle for deploying municipal broadband nationwide.”

[See our recent story here on how local officials are seeing this play out in Massachusetts]  

From Colorado to Texas, municipal broadband providers continue to rack up industry accolades, not just for delivering fiber service–the gold standard of Internet connectivity–but for these networks’ ability to provide ubiquitous access across an entire community at affordable rates.

The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) recently announced that its Community Broadband Projects of the Year Awards for 2023 will go to the Connexion network in Fort Collins, Colorado and TeamPharr.net in Pharr, Texas.

Awarding Community-Wide Access and Affordability

The Fort Collins award is in recognition for the city having established “a municipal broadband utility created by and for the community to improve the life of all 80,000 residential and commercial properties of Fort Collins through better, more affordable Internet,” NATOA said in announcing the award.

Image

But it wasn’t just because Fort Collins’ network provides city-wide access to fiber. The award also recognizes that “Connexion offers the fastest Internet speeds available at affordable prices (emphasis added) as well as competitive phone and TV services.”

From Colorado to Texas, municipal broadband providers continue to rack up industry accolades, not just for delivering fiber service–the gold standard of Internet connectivity–but for these networks’ ability to provide ubiquitous access across an entire community at affordable rates.

The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) recently announced that its Community Broadband Projects of the Year Awards for 2023 will go to the Connexion network in Fort Collins, Colorado and TeamPharr.net in Pharr, Texas.

Awarding Community-Wide Access and Affordability

The Fort Collins award is in recognition for the city having established “a municipal broadband utility created by and for the community to improve the life of all 80,000 residential and commercial properties of Fort Collins through better, more affordable Internet,” NATOA said in announcing the award.

Image

But it wasn’t just because Fort Collins’ network provides city-wide access to fiber. The award also recognizes that “Connexion offers the fastest Internet speeds available at affordable prices (emphasis added) as well as competitive phone and TV services.”

From Colorado to Texas, municipal broadband providers continue to rack up industry accolades, not just for delivering fiber service–the gold standard of Internet connectivity–but for these networks’ ability to provide ubiquitous access across an entire community at affordable rates.

The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) recently announced that its Community Broadband Projects of the Year Awards for 2023 will go to the Connexion network in Fort Collins, Colorado and TeamPharr.net in Pharr, Texas.

Awarding Community-Wide Access and Affordability

The Fort Collins award is in recognition for the city having established “a municipal broadband utility created by and for the community to improve the life of all 80,000 residential and commercial properties of Fort Collins through better, more affordable Internet,” NATOA said in announcing the award.

Image

But it wasn’t just because Fort Collins’ network provides city-wide access to fiber. The award also recognizes that “Connexion offers the fastest Internet speeds available at affordable prices (emphasis added) as well as competitive phone and TV services.”

From Colorado to Texas, municipal broadband providers continue to rack up industry accolades, not just for delivering fiber service–the gold standard of Internet connectivity–but for these networks’ ability to provide ubiquitous access across an entire community at affordable rates.

The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) recently announced that its Community Broadband Projects of the Year Awards for 2023 will go to the Connexion network in Fort Collins, Colorado and TeamPharr.net in Pharr, Texas.

Awarding Community-Wide Access and Affordability

The Fort Collins award is in recognition for the city having established “a municipal broadband utility created by and for the community to improve the life of all 80,000 residential and commercial properties of Fort Collins through better, more affordable Internet,” NATOA said in announcing the award.

Image

But it wasn’t just because Fort Collins’ network provides city-wide access to fiber. The award also recognizes that “Connexion offers the fastest Internet speeds available at affordable prices (emphasis added) as well as competitive phone and TV services.”

From Colorado to Texas, municipal broadband providers continue to rack up industry accolades, not just for delivering fiber service–the gold standard of Internet connectivity–but for these networks’ ability to provide ubiquitous access across an entire community at affordable rates.

The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) recently announced that its Community Broadband Projects of the Year Awards for 2023 will go to the Connexion network in Fort Collins, Colorado and TeamPharr.net in Pharr, Texas.

Awarding Community-Wide Access and Affordability

The Fort Collins award is in recognition for the city having established “a municipal broadband utility created by and for the community to improve the life of all 80,000 residential and commercial properties of Fort Collins through better, more affordable Internet,” NATOA said in announcing the award.

Image

But it wasn’t just because Fort Collins’ network provides city-wide access to fiber. The award also recognizes that “Connexion offers the fastest Internet speeds available at affordable prices (emphasis added) as well as competitive phone and TV services.”