In 2010, communities in rural western Massachusetts began a group that would evolve into the WiredWest Cooperative. Over the past six years, the group, formed to bring better last-mile connectivity to the unserved and underserved areas of the state, has faced a number of challenges. Most recently, disagreements with the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI), the state agency tasked with distributing funds for last-mile connectivity, have threatened WiredWest's regional cooperative model.

In a new report released by the Berkman Center, authors David Talbot, Waide Warner, and Susan Crawford share the story of these communities' attempt to band together to establish a fiber-optic network.

In WiredWest: a Cooperative of Municipalities Forms to Build A Fiber Optic Network, we learn not only how this region came together, but how they developed their business plan and procured funding, how they anticipate the network to affect affordability, and the ways they have adjusted the plan as circumstances required. The authors also take the time to share some history of cooperatives, and address how the cooperative model - used in the past for electricity and telephone - can benefit the communities in rural western Massachusetts.

Key Findings from the report:

WiredWest enabled dozens of small towns to come together through a unified structure and a shared vision of citizen cooperation across municipal borders, a model replicable nationwide.

WiredWest has developed and vetted a detailed financial model, drafted an operating agreement, and obtained $49 deposits from more than 7,100 residents who have pledged to subscribe to Internet access services.

WiredWest’s plan is designed to achieve economies of scale by...

Chattanooga's EPB Fiber Optics continues to stand out as a model for the municipal broadband movement, demonstrating the extraordinary impact that fast, affordable, reliable Internet access can have on economic development efforts. 

Now, a new research report from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation highlights the network’s vital role in kick starting the development of what has become a thriving “entrepreneurial ecosystem” in this city of about 174,000.

Collaboration, Public Private Partnerships

The report, titled "Little Town, Layered Ecosystem: A Case Study of Chattanooga," credits the EPB network as the “spark” for an explosion of economic development since the network's launch in 2010. As the article notes, the EPB estimates that since the launch, Chattanooga has seen an influx of ninety-one new companies with approximately $50 million in venture capital contributions from six firms. 

According to the report, the network has also encouraged an entrepreneurial climate in this city that had a “long history of collaboration and public-private partnerships” even prior to the network launch. The report cites examples of the city's collaborative spirit in several non-profit entities, city officials, local anchor companies and universities, and the city’s recently opened Innovation District.

Yasuyuki Motoyama, director of Research and Policy at the Kauffman Foundation and one of the paper's authors, explains the lessons that other cities might take away from Chattanooga’s example:

"Chattanooga organized and mobilized its assets to orient itself to entrepreneurial initiatives. This demonstrates what a small-size city can do when factions from different sectors focus on a common goal and collaborate to achieve that goal. This case of Chattanooga provides lessons for other cities to leverage their own unique assets and to create equally successful ecosystems."

How good is Internet service in your community? 

The question may seem simple, but the answer isn’t always straight forward, according to a recent blog post from Blandin on Broadband. There is more to consider than just availability or speed. “A multitude of factors come into play.”  

Now, a Twin Cities-based consultant who has worked extensively with the Blandin Foundation has created an online Community Broadband Assessment tool designed to help cities and towns determine how their Internet service compares to other communities. The Community Broadband Infrastructure and Services Assessment Tool can be found at the Minnesota Broadband Coalition website.

Coleman Crafts Assessment Tool 

Bill Coleman, told us he recently came up with the idea for the survey after talking with several people from outstate counties and towns and rural advocacy groups. “There is a surprising lack of information about broadband quality” in Minnesota, said Coleman, whose consulting firm assists clients develop and implement programs of broadband infrastructure investment and technology promotion and training. “We are trying to coordinate the rural voice around broadband.” 

The Broadband Coalition noted that Coleman’s assessment tool:

“[W]ill help local leaders investigate, consider, understand and discuss the state of the community’s broadband infrastructure and services. This tool incorporates measures of broadband speed, ubiquity, competition, redundancy and partnership.  In many areas, community broadband consideration has moved beyond the city limits to the community’s market area or to individual townships, the entire county or tribal reservation.  This tool allows analysis at any geography, recognizing that larger geographies are likely to have wide variations in broadband availability. “

Comparing Communities on Broadband 

According to the Blandin blog:

...“[T]he assessment [tool] helps a community determine where it...

As communities across the country realize the big corporate providers may never bring the kind of connectivity they need, they are considering the potential of public-private partnerships. A new report by Joanne Hovis, Marc Schulhof, Jim Baller, and Ashley Stelfox, takes a look at the issues facing local governments and their private sector partners.

The Emerging World of Broadband Public-Private Partnerships: A Business Strategy and Legal Guide examines the practical considerations when investigating PPPs for better connectivity. The report was published by the Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC) and the Benton Foundation. 

The report offers case studies from several networks to illustrate the findings. Among others, the authors write about Westminster, Maryland; Urbana/Champaign, Illinois; and Holly Springs, North Carolina. Each community has collaborated with the private sector in some unique partnership.

The Benton Foundation sums up the three models explored in the report:

• Private investment, public facilitation – The model focuses not on a public sector investment, but on modest measures the public sector can take to enable or encourage greater private sector investment. Google Fiber is the most prominent example, but there is significant interest among smaller companies
• Private execution, public funding – This model, which involves a substantial amount of public investment, is a variation on the traditional municipal ownership model for broadband infrastructure—but with private rather than public sector execution.
• Shared investment and risk – In this model, localities and private partners find creative ways to share the capital, operating, and maintenance costs of a broadband network.

The authors also share expertise on a range of legal topics that often arise when working with a private sector partner. They share their years of experience with matters such as confirmation of authority at state and local levels, project...