Own Your Internet:
How to Build a Public Broadband Network
We’re excited to match AAPB members with communities seeking to take control of their broadband futures. Become a mentee today!
For decades, public broadband networks have been successfully serving hundreds of communities with fast, robust, and affordable internet access. Unlike private-sector networks, municipal, tribal, and other community- and member-owned broadband networks are focused on ensuring universal, robust connectivity at affordable prices. The results have been remarkable.
Yet for all of the progress that public broadband networks have made in recent years, there are still many communities that want to explore network ownership but don’t know where to begin. That’s why the AAPB, partnering with the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, has developed a handbook that sets out, in simple terms, the key decisions a community and its leaders must make, as well as the concrete steps they must take to build a successful public network. Own Your Internet: How to Build a Public Broadband Network, authored by Bill Coleman, also provides a list of resources that can help with both—including law firms, financial advisors, public relations firms, construction firms, equipment vendors, grant applications and management platforms, operational and business support systems, and firms that design, build, and operate networks.
Developing and executing a plan to build a public network is not an easy task for any community. There will be challenges—be they logistical, technical, financial, or political. But the economic and social benefits of community network ownership will certainly be worth it. This handbook is designed to help you address those challenges so your community can benefit from everything that broadband enables.
Own Your Internet 