These Cities Built Cheap, Fast, Community-Owned Broadband. Here's What Net Neutrality Means For Them
Publicly owned broadband lets local communities from Iowa to Louisiana control a vital economic resource鈥攔ather than leaving it in the hands of a few monopolistic corporations. The outcome of this week's FCC vote could either help or hinder the path forward.
In this red state, publicly owned utilities provide electricity to all 1.8 million people. Here's how Nebraska took its energy out of corporate hands and made it affordable for everyday residents.
Gas stations aren鈥檛 great for the climate, but the move is a step toward local control over economic decisions鈥攁 model that holds great potential for developing renewable energy in the long term.
Among the lessons of a major cooperative business' bankruptcy: The success of big co-ops might depend on things like radically reforming transportation and other parts of the larger economy.