Sixteen U.S. states still ban community-owned broadband networks

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Space- and Radio-Based Broadband vs Fiber/Cable

  • Many doubt LEO satellite broadband can economically compete with terrestrial options except in very remote areas. Running constellations is expensive and total capacity per satellite is limited compared to fiber.
  • Back-of-the-envelope analyses suggest Starlink-scale systems cannot realistically handle dense metropolitan demand; better seen as a substitute for “no internet” rather than for robust fiber.
  • Latency and jitter for LEO are somewhat higher than cable but can be acceptable for most uses; fast-twitch gaming reportedly suffers.
  • Some argue 5G/terrestrial radio will increasingly compete with or “drink the milkshake” of cable/fiber, though others note poor in-building coverage and capacity limits.

Monopoly, Regulation, and Capture

  • Commenters distinguish between:
    • Regulations that protect public goods (e.g., environment, safety).
    • Regulations that entrench monopolies and block competition (e.g., bans on municipal broadband).
  • Telecom is described as heavily subsidized “corporate welfare” and deeply involved in rent-seeking and lobbying; money in politics is framed as the root cause.
  • Some note the FCC and Congress have authority over interstate communications and could override state-level barriers, but the fragmented “50-state solution” is seen as inefficient.

Community-Owned Infrastructure and Models

  • Strong support for community-owned last‑mile infrastructure (fiber/copper) with open-access requirements; ISPs then compete over shared physical networks.
  • Local loop unbundling and municipal or cooperative ownership are seen as ways to avoid wasteful overbuild and improve service and resilience.
  • Examples mentioned include North Dakota co-op culture, Tennessee and Missouri municipal fiber successes, and Utah’s “wholesale-only” community networks (viewed by some as a limitation rather than a full ban).
  • Others suggest co-op or nonprofit structures can resist roll-up by large capital pools, though long-term pressures (retirement, buyouts, predatory pricing) remain.

Grassroots and Mesh Networking

  • Several references to informal or community-built networks: apartment- and neighborhood-level Ethernet in post-Soviet countries, rural US wireless sharing, and projects like NYC Mesh, Guifi, and Freifunk.
  • These are seen as decentralized, hacker-ethos-aligned responses to incumbent control.

Political and Ideological Framing

  • Some see the bans as evidence of a broader failure of democracy and capitalism, arguing national ISPs should not exist and municipal broadband is clearly superior.
  • Others worry about municipal competence, citing poor contractor behavior during local broadband rollout.