The following article was published by Policyband:
A new report by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation says states "should be careful" about allocating BEAD money to support government-owned networks or GONs.
ITIF, after looking at 20 GONs in operation today, concluded that GONs compete unfairly against privately owned ISPs. "These advantages include capital grants not available to private ISPs, tax exemptions, and more favorable treatment by state and local regulatory authorities," said ITIF research assistant Ellis Scherer.
Gigi Sohn, executive director of the American Association for Public Broadband (AAPB), slammed the report as "unsupported by real evidence" that proved GONs were wasteful enterprises. "Community broadband networks have arisen because big cable and telecom companies refuse to serve some communities with affordable and robust broadband," Sohn said.
The full article is available here.