The James Madison Institute Releases New Government-Owned Network Policy Brief

The James Madison Institute Releases New Government-Owned Network Policy Brief

TALLAHASSEE — Today, The James Madison Institute (JMI) released a new policy brief, “Public Networks, Private Costs: Why Government-Owned Broadband Fails Taxpayers,” highlighting the inefficiencies of government-owned networks (GONs) as consistently overestimating users, underestimating costs, and shifting long-term risks onto taxpayers. 

Approximately 400 GONs operate throughout the United States, including active networks in Florida cities like Ocala, Gainesville, and Fort Pierce. Currently in Ocala, the local government is proposing to spend an additional $93,000 on broadband consultants and over $495,000 on new inventory for the government owned network.

This new brief outlines how GONs fail to solve the primary barriers to broadband access: unconnected Americans either do not want internet access or they cannot afford it. It also looks further into what Florida is doing right with broadband deployment and alternative solutions for local governments instead of GONs.

“GONs don’t close the digital divide, they crowd out private investment, underperform, and leave taxpayers footing the bill. The data is remarkably consistent: from Chattanooga’s unreplicable subsidy to Ocala’s three-decade run serving just a tenth of its own city, these projects rarely deliver on their promises even as they keep coming back for more taxpayer money,” said Dr. Edward Longe, Director of National Strategy and Director of the Center for Technology and Innovation at JMI. “Municipal governments need to stop treating GONs as a fix for a problem they don’t actually solve. At some point, chasing the next subsidy stops looking like a strategy and starts looking like a habit.”

“America’s remaining digital divide is increasingly driven by affordability and other barriers to adoption, not the absence of another broadband network. When cities respond by building a government-owned competitor, they risk putting taxpayers on the hook for years without bringing more households online. Broadband policy should remove barriers to private deployment where access gaps remain and help families afford service where it is already available,” explained Turner Loesel, Policy Analyst at JMI.

Read the full policy brief, “Public Networks, Private Costs: Why Government-Owned Broadband Fails Taxpayers,” here.

###

The James Madison Institute is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the ideals of limited government, economic freedom, federalism and individual liberty coupled with individual responsibility. The institute conducts research on such issues as education, technology, health care, taxes and regulatory environments.