City Hall should do more to promote broadband

At the core of the net neutrality repeal is the idea that broadband competition will give consumers more options. In other words, if one internet service provider starts blocking your favorite sites or slowing down your video stream, or if your provider is too slow or too expensive or too unreliable, you should be able to take your business elsewhere. The city can do more to encourage competition between broadband internet providers.

But healthy broadband competition does not exist today. For speeds above 15 mbps, or megabits per second, more than 64 percent of Houston has two or fewer broadband options at home. And while cell providers promise broadband-like speeds with their upcoming 5G networks, there are enormous barriers to entry that prevent startups and industry disruptors from entering the field. And in Texas, cities are prohibited from creating a municipal-owned broadband network.

So, what can Mayor Sylvester Turner and City Council do to encourage broadband competition?

Right away, they can begin collecting data about broadband availability, speed and price across the city. This data collection activity could even be part of regularly scheduled community meetings, captured via notecards and pencils. The city could also coordinate citizen-reported speed tests from various neighborhoods throughout the city. As we get ready for Census 2020, which will be mostly online, the connectivity and digital literacy of all Houstonians becomes a top priority if we are to procure as accurate a representation as possible for funding for the region.

The city can encourage citizen-led solutions. In New York City, NYC Mesh is a neutral community network that provides access through a series of rooftop nodes and supernodes. It delivers internet service wirelessly and connects to a fiber backbone in key places. Houston officials should be actively exploring ideas such as this with academic partners and local makerspaces.

The city can also improve transparency about master license agreements for wireless facilities. These agreements provide the terms under which private companies may use the city’s utility poles and other access nodes for their network. Even after the state Legislature set new, lower fees for using the public right of way, the city can still collect $250 or more per access node, per year. The mayor and City Council should require that the two departments collecting these fees — Administrative and Regulatory Affairs, and Public Works and Engineering — plan and report how they will incorporate broadband equity projects into their departmental plans.

In the future, with data in hand, the city can make broadband accessibility and affordability part of Houston’s legislative agenda. City officials should seek amendments to SB 1004 that would create opportunities for broadband accessibility and affordability for all Houstonians. For example, the law could be amended to make exemptions for and prioritize the ISPs of nonprofit organizations, community-owned networks and broadband providers in underserved areas.

Mayor Turner and the members of City Council can’t change the FCC, but they can encourage bold new ideas that would make meaningful progress toward affordable, high-speed internet access for Houstonians in every neighborhood.