A group of municipal officials have formed a lobbying group for municipal broadband in the United States, called the American Association for Public Broadband (AAPB). The formation of the group was announced at the Broadband Communities Summit in Houston, reports GovTech.
The creation of the group comes as broadband connectivity is receiving unprecedented support in the U.S., both in terms of federal funding coming down to state and local government, as well as in how much attention the issue is receiving from the public, universities and the private sector. Following the COVID pandemic, there’s also support in Congress to ensure the entire country has affordable access to the internet, Inside Towers reported.
“For decades, municipal networks have achieved success across the country. Now, with AAPB, we have a clear unified voice,” the group notes on its new website. “We work collaboratively with communities, policymakers, service providers and other industry groups to advance high-speed broadband deployments in the United States.”
According to AAPB: “Federal and state officials are hearing from constituents that high-speed broadband should be prioritized, but lawmakers typically lack the expertise to understand the complexities and nuances of the telecom industry.” It notes that with $65 billion coming from the Infrastructure Law, “concerns are mounting that policymakers don’t have the complete picture.”
Members are concerned that legislators are receiving “biased guidance” about municipal broadband from the telecom lobby and say, “we’re here to change that. We’re here to definitively say that municipal broadband is a success and a necessity.”
So far, the group has been met with early support. AAPB tweeted that within the first 24 hours since it was announced, it raised more than $100,000 from donors, according to GovTech.
Voting membership is limited to local governments and their employees. The five founding members are: Highland Communication Services, Highland, IL; Traverse City Light and Power, Traverse City, MI; Kitsap PUD, Kitsap County, Washington State; Ridgefield Economic and Community Development Commission, Ridgefield, CT; and UTOPIA Fiber, Murray, UT.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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