Vermont, Ohio Networks Prove Municipal Broadband Pays for Itself

Feb. 22, 2025 – Cities and towns were proving that municipal broadband networks can pay for themselves – without raising taxes, without government bailouts, and without private investment.

That was the message from advocates for these networks, at a webinar hosted Thursday by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s Community Broadband Networks Initiative and the American Association for Public Broadband, during which local broadband officials and financial experts discussed how to advance municipal networks without burdening taxpayers.

Amid an ongoing narrative that municipal broadband was too risky, too costly, and ultimately unsustainable, success stories across the country have countered that idea.

In a major milestone, ECFiber became the first municipality to receive an S&P bond rating for a broadband project that was not backed by any taxing power. Unlike traditional municipal bonds, EC Fiber’s bonds were backed solely by subscriber revenue from a competitive, unregulated business — a key distinction that set this rating apart.