Broadband—also referred to as high-speed Internet service—has been deployed in the United States since the late 1990s, primarily by private sector providers. These providers include telephone companies, cable companies, wireless providers, and other entities that provide commercial telecommunications services to residential, business, and institutional customers. While broadband deployment has been rapid and robust overall, there are parts of the nation where broadband is less deployed (primarily rural areas) and there remain regions and communities that are dissatisfied with the level of broadband service currently offered by private sector providers. These communities point to problems ranging from low download and upload speeds, obsolete technology, poor reliability, high prices, and/or a lack of choice in providers. With the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) moving to define the minimum speed of broadband at 25 Mbps, more communities may perceive a lack of adequate broadband service, especially those communities in rural areas. As a solution, some communities have turned to public entities as possible broadband providers. These communities anticipate that public entities may be able to provide municipal broadband at superior levels of speed, performance, and affordability than what is currently offered by private providers. Public entities that provide broadband service can be local governments or public utilities, for example, and may construct and manage broadband networks either solely or in partnership with private companies. There are a number of municipal broadband models that have been implemented across the nation. Since each community is different and each faces unique challenges, there is no one size that fits all. Municipal broadband (also sometimes referred to as "community broadband") is a somewhat amorphous term that can signify many different ways that a local government might participate—either directly or indirectly—in the provision of broadband service to the local community. Municipal broadband models can include public ownership, public-private partnership, and a cooperative model. With public ownership , the local government is the principal entity building, financing, and operating the broadband network. The network can be run by the local municipal electric utility (Chattanooga, TN, and Lafayette, LA, are examples), or it can be run by a city department such as the information technology (IT) department (as in Santa Monica, CA). There are also instances where a publicly owned and built network might be opened to private providers to provide retail Internet access or other services to the public. Public-private partnerships can come in many different forms, from public and private sector entities sharing capital and operations costs, to governments providing access to public rights-of-way or other city infrastructure (e.g., conduits, pole attachments) for privately funded and operated networks, to government-funded projects contracting with private providers to build, operate, and/or maintain the network. Partners can include private for-profit companies, local nonprofits, and even local residents. Finally, there is a cooperative model , which refers to electric and telephone cooperatives, many of which were originally created during rural electrification in the 1930s. These cooperatives, in rural areas, have begun in some instances to provide broadband service. Many of the cooperatives providing broadband service have received or are eligible for federal loan and grant support from the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). There are also a few cooperatives that have been recently formed specifically for providing broadband service. These typically rely on support from local governments and include the East Central Vermont Community Fiber Network (ECFiber) and the WiredWest project in western Massachusetts. Aside from the models of how municipal broadband networks are governed, the nature of broadband service offered by municipal broadband networks can vary. Municipal networks may provide wholesale service ("middle-mile" infrastructure, where retail providers connect into the municipal network), "last mile" retail service directly to customers, or both; may provide service solely to anchor institutions or also include businesses and residences; may serve solely within municipal boundaries or may be extended to surrounding municipalities and counties; may provide data or data bundled with video and/or voice, or may include smart grid capacity; and while most recent and proposed municipal broadband projects utilize fiber infrastructure, other broadband technologies such as wireless or cable have also been deployed. Municipal broadband networks tend to be established in small and mid-sized communities, often located in rural areas. With some exceptions, municipal broadband networks are typically not located in major metropolitan areas, where many private providers already offer broadband service. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) lists 492 U.S. municipalities with broadband networks. The complete list is included in the appendix of the January 2015 White House report Community-Based Broadband Solutions: The Benefits of Competition and Choice for Community Development and Highspeed Internet Access . This includes 89 communities with a publicly owned fiber to the home (FTTH) network reaching most or all of the community, 76 communities with a publicly owned cable network reaching most or all of the community, over 180 communities with some publicly owned fiber service available to parts of the community, over 110 communities with publicly owned dark fiber available, and over 40 communities in 13 states with a publicly owned network offering at least 1 gigabit services. The magazine Broadband Communities lists 143 public and public-private fiber to the premises (FTTP) network projects. This list identifies community fiber systems in 37 states and in American Samoa. The largest numbers of deployments are in Washington (13), Kentucky (11), Minnesota (10), Tennessee (8), Iowa (8), Illinois (7), and Florida (7). The virtues and drawbacks of municipal broadband have been vigorously debated by policymakers and other stakeholders. Advocates for municipal broadband include groups aligned with local communities, while opponents include private sector incumbent broadband providers and state governmental entities. The primary argument in favor of municipal broadband is rooted in the dissatisfaction of some communities with existing broadband service that is offered by private providers. Many local communities cite low speeds, high prices, a lack of competition, or even an absence of any broadband service in particularly sparsely populated areas, and argue that they should be able to provide this service to meet their citizens' needs and to support the community's economic development. Pro-municipal broadband arguments include Municipal broadband can enable small and mid-sized municipalities, often in rural areas, to offer higher download and upload speeds. This is especially important given that the FCC continues to identify a persistent "digital divide" between rural areas (where 53% of Americans do not have broadband speeds of at least 25 Mbps download/3 Mbps upload) and urban areas (where only 8% do not have access to those speeds). Overall, 16% of American households are in areas without a single provider of 25 Mbps/3 Mbps fixed services. Municipal networks can inject competition in markets where there may be a limited number of providers. According to the FCC, 45% of households have only a single provider of broadband offering 25 Mbps/3 Mbps. A lack of competition can lead to high prices, poor customer service, limited and restrictive service packages, and delayed or no investment in advanced technologies such as ultra-fast gigabit networks. A municipal broadband network, in some cases, can induce private providers to lower prices and increase speeds in order to compete. Municipal broadband can address unmet public interest needs. Private providers tend to favor middle- to upper-income households which will generate adequate revenue. Municipal broadband entities that are publicly owned may be more likely to offer broadband to low-income households at affordable prices. Municipal broadband follows the tradition of municipal utilities, which have been providing basic utilities such as water, natural gas, and electricity for many years. The main argument against municipal broadband (typically referred to by some opponents as "government-owned broadband") is that it is inappropriate for government-sponsored, -owned, or -supported networks to compete with private providers. Municipal networks have unfair inherent advantages over existing private networks, including preferential treatment with respect to rights of way and other local regulatory barriers, and financing by direct taxpayer subsidies or government bonds with below-market interest rates. This advantage can result in market-distorting effects that can unfairly skew the competitive playing field between private and public providers. Anti-municipal broadband arguments include Deploying broadband systems is inherently high-risk, because unlike basic utilities like water or electricity, there are typically competing providers and not all customers will necessarily sign up for service. Governments can be ill-equipped to plan, operate, and maintain efficient commercial broadband systems, and if they fail, the taxpayers will be liable for the cost of that failure. Taxpayer money should more appropriately be directed toward basic infrastructure needs—such as roads, bridges, and water systems—that are traditionally under the purview of government. In the United States, broadband is primarily provided by the private sector. Public money that is directed toward municipal broadband is money that is taken away from other, more critical infrastructure needs. According to the FCC, "private industry continues to invest billions of dollars to expand America's broadband networks." Because of the market-distorting effects of municipal broadband, continued private sector investment in broadband networks might be discouraged in some cases. The broadband market is subject to rapid technological change and intense competition. The bureaucracy of government is not well suited to making policy decisions in a dynamic and rapidly changing environment. This poses the risk of municipal broadband networks being reliant on soon-to-be obsolete technologies. While all agree that there is risk in municipal broadband, supporters and opponents argue over the significance of "successes" and "failures" among existing municipal broadband projects. With hundreds of municipal broadband projects to choose from, there will always be examples to fit whichever definition of "success" or "failure" that observers choose to apply. In general, municipal broadband supporters point to projects that have provided improved services, lower prices, increased competition, and an improved climate for private-sector investment in the local economy.