Barriers to Municipal Broadband
Preemption of municipal broadband is complicated – even states that have a concise statute to bar telecommunications services are complicated by questions about whether the definition of such services includes broadband. Rather than attempting to simply prohibit municipal broadband, many states have developed a series of requirements that municipalities must meet in order to offer broadband services and that act as a de facto ban. To distinguish between these types of preemption, this map reflects three categories of severity.
Severe Preemption |
These state laws are so restrictive that very few or no cities are able to invest in networks (AR, LA, NE, NV, NC, PA, SC, TN). |
|---|---|
Significant Preemption |
These laws have made it difficult or outlawed entire business models (AL, FL, MN, MO, MT, TX, UT, VA, WA). |
Moderate Preemption |
These state laws contain barriers to investment by local governments but communities have found ways of navigating it (CO, IA, MI, WI). |
List View
Notes:
Citations for these laws are available here and here.
Phantom taxes and costs are policies that require public entities to account for nebulous prices that a private sector firm could accrue if the municipality were such a firm. These requirements tend to be poorly defined in statute, opening a municipality to significant legal exposure as lawsuit will allege they had been accounted for incorrectly.
For More Information and greater detail about the barriers, click here.
Additional Resource
This guide from the Local Solutions Support Center and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance highlights the scale of the broadband problem and important policies that local governments can consider in the short and long-term to increase access to broadband. Read the resource here.
Alabama
Significant Preemption
State imposes limitations on all municipalities
Phantom Taxes and Costs? Yes.*
Referendum Requirement? Yes, for cable television
Note: Can only offer service within political boundary or where city offers electricity.
Arkansas
Severe Preemption
Only cities with muni electric utilities or those that have received broadband grants may provide communications services
Colorado
Moderate Preemption
State imposes limitations on all municipalities
Referendum Requirement? Yes.*
Note: After slowing municipal broadband for several years, communities developed a playbook 100+ local governments have passed it.
Florida
Significant Preemption
State imposes limitations on all municipalities
Phantom Taxes and Costs? Yes.*
Iowa
Moderate Preemption
State imposes limitations on all municipalities
Referendum Requirement? Yes.
Louisiana
Severe Preemption
State imposes limitations on all municipalities
Phantom Taxes and Costs? Yes.*
Referendum Requirement? Yes, for communications services.
Michigan
Moderate Preemption
State imposes limitations on all municipalities
Note: Cities must request bids for the service and received less than three qualified bids.
Minnesota
Significant Preemption
State imposes limitations on all municipalities
Referendum Requirement? Yes, supermajority.
Missouri
Significant Preemption
State imposes limitations on all municipalities
Note: Only allowed to offer “Internet-type” services – no cable or telephone, etc.
Montana
Significant Preemption
State imposes limitations on all municipalities
Note: Cities can only offer service if no private service is available.
Nebraska
Severe Preemption
State imposes limitations on all municipalities
Phantom Taxes and Costs? Yes.*
Note: Extreme limits, even on dark fiber sales.
Nevada
Severe Preemption for impacted cities
State imposes limitations on cities with more than 25K or counties with more than 55K
North Carolina
Severe Preemption
State imposes limitations on all municipalities
Phantom Taxes and Costs? Yes.*
Referendum Requirement? Yes.
Note: Complicated restrictions have prevented any city from attempting a muni network since restrictions enacted in 2011.
Pennsylvania
Severe Preemption
State imposes limitations on all municipalities
Note: Cities must effectively get permission from the local telephone company.
South Carolina
Severe Preemption
State imposes limitations on all municipalities
Phantom Taxes and Costs? Yes.*
Note: Numerous complicated reasons.
Tennessee
Significant Preemption for cities with muni electricity; Severe for all others
Only cities with municipal electricity can offer telecom services.
Phantom Taxes and Costs? Yes.*
Note: Cities cannot offer services outside electric footprint
Texas
Significant Preemption
State imposes limitations on all municipalities
Note: Certain homerule cities can offer only Internet access, no other services
Utah
Significant Preemption
State imposes limitations on all municipalities
Phantom Taxes and Costs? Yes.*
Note: Complicated burdens result in only wholesale business model being viable in some circumstances.
Virginia
Significant Preemption
State imposes limitations on all municipalities
Referendum Requirement? Yes, to offer cable television service.
Note: Complicated burdens to navigate.
Washington
Significant Preemption
Some municipalities exempted from preemption
Note: Public Utility Districts restricted to wholesale-only business model.
Wisconsin
Moderate Preemption
State imposes limitations on all municipalities
Phantom Taxes and Costs? Yes.*
Note: Hurdles and limitations not applied to private sector companies.