Facebook and Net Neutrality Aside, Local Broadband Leaders Can Make a Difference

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: While Washington alternatively obsesses over net neutrality, beating up on Facebook, or other distractions brought to us by the man in the White House, how refreshing is it to encounter a piece like this. Mark Howell is demonstrating that leadership on a local level can make a difference in bringing people what they really need: Better Broadband, faster and cheaper. An inspiring story from which much can be learned!

Saving net neutrality, one house at a time, from the Washington Post:

If the Facebook privacy debacle has shown one thing, it’s that technology companies have become immensely powerful and seemingly accountable to no one. Recent federal rollbacks of net neutrality and online privacy protections have put Americans in an even weaker position when dealing with Internet service providers.

But there is a way for the public to push back: through Internet service provided by local governments, which are directly accountable to citizens.

As the chief information officer for Concord, Mass., I’ve overseen the creation of a successful municipal broadband system by treating Internet service like what it really is — a public utility, like water and electricity. We’re providing residents with broadband Internet service that is inexpensive and reliable and respects net neutrality and privacy principles.

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Source: Saving net neutrality, one house at a time – The Washington Post

(Photo of Civil War Memorial at Monument Square in Concord, Massachusetts, by John Phelan used with permission.)