Public-Private Broadband Partnerships on Rise: Benton Institute

Government and incumbent telecom companies show growing interest in public-private partnerships, said a Benton Institute report Monday prepared by CTC Technology and Energy. “For example, Consolidated Communications in New England has entered into partnerships with numerous small communities to build fiber-to-the-premises, with the community financing the deployment and Consolidated responsible for designing, building, maintaining, and operating the networks,” it said. More federal and state broadband funds encourage partnerships, the report said. NTIA's new broadband infrastructure program requires applicants to establish public-private partnerships, while states including Maine, Maryland, Vermont and Virginia “have special grant programs specifically for public-private efforts,” it said. Such partnerships can change the usual dynamic of private capital going to served, high-return areas while public money goes to unserved markets, the paper said: Such collaboration “attracts private investment to areas where return is low or nonexistent but can be improved through collaboration with the local community,” while unlocking "local public investment in already-served communities where policymakers want better broadband but prefer to [achieve it] in partnership with the private sector."