Next Century Cities broadband coalition grows to 50 members

Next Century Cities, a coalition dedicated to improving broadband delivery in cities and towns, has grown to a total of 50 cities.

This means that 50 municipalities are looking to better understand how to bring more broadband service options to consumers and businesses that reside in their area by figuring out how to get bonds to pay for new fiber networks.

"Cities want their voices heard as our country debates the future of broadband," said Deb Socia, Next Century Cities executive director, in a Washington Post article.

Among the group's goals are driving awareness about broadband choice and convincing the public that broadband service is "necessary infrastructure" similar to roads, bridges and the water supply.

When the coalition was initially launched in October it only had 32 member cities, including Santa Monica, Calif.; Boston; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Raleigh, N.C.; Portland, Ore.; Lafayette, La.; and San Antonio, Texas.

Given the diversity of cities involved in the coalition, Next Century Cities doesn't want to advocate a specific technology or method to expand broadband services.

The emergence of Next Century Cities comes at a time when some communities are successfully overcoming barriers to building their own networks. In November, seven communities in Colorado got the green light to proceed with their broadband plans.

For more:
- the Washington Post has this article

Related articles:
Next Century Cities coalition leads 32 U.S. cities in advocating 1 Gig broadband service
Seven Colorado cities get green light to build municipal broadband networks