This action plan from the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition reinforces the need for policymakers to improve anchor institution broadband by fostering competition, lowering prices, and promoting open interconnection and shared use of broadband networks.

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This resource describes the Fiber Optic Master Plan for the City of San Leandro, California. It discusses such recent initiatives as the deployment of public Wi-Fi, high-speed connectivity to schools, and smart LED street lights. The piece also offers actions federal and state government leaders can take to help close the digital divide.

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This article spotlights Petrichor, a corporation working with municipalities in Washington and Idaho to help communities apply for state and federal grants to build broadband infrastructure. Prior to forming Petrichor, its executive director, Joe Poire, built open access networks comprising more than 450 miles of fiber, which has resulted in competition in previously unserved markets.

Adopted in June 2008, this paper from the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) provides an overview of a recommended national broadband strategy. The main principles are to immediately deploy advanced broadband networks, require high-capacity bandwidth in both directions for true broadband, use fiber-to-the-premises as the preferred option, and make high-capacity broadband connectivity affordable and accessible.

This paper provides a case study of how the city of Ammon, Idaho leveraged its fiber network and network virtualization technology to create a competitive local broadband environment.

This collocation of resources focuses specifically on open access networks. It includes definitions, case studies, financing information, and many other resources.

This blog from June 2020 argues for the creation of a broadband competition policy agenda and details how governments can specifically encourage competition. The author recommends five methods: focus federal dollars on higher speeds than 25/3 Mbps, encourage concepts like open-access and municipal experimentation, allow people living in multi-tenant buildings to choose providers, empower community institutions to allow private ISPs to use their buildings to branch out into neighborhoods, and gather pricing data to help consumers make better choices.

This report shows how the United States is behind other developed countries when it comes to gigabit speed broadband, both in terms of coverage and adoption. The piece examines why public intervention has not led to better results, with a focus on the need for the country to move from vertically integrated operators to wholesale fiber networks that lease capacity to service providers.

This brief from the Urban Institute is part of a larger project exploring how innovative policies and programs from abroad can inform state and local efforts in the US to advance an inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Welsh program identified during the global search, Superfast Cymru, has the potential to inform U.S. policymakers seeking to close access gaps.