Public-Private Partnerships Are the Best Way to Expand Internet Access, Says Seattle Mayor

Some residents and interest groups have long pushed for a city-run broadband network, saying it would help reduce access inequality.

The mayor reiterated the position he formed after a city-commissioned study released last summer showed it would cost between $480 million and $665 million to build out a municipal-broadband network across the city. That price tag is less than previously estimated, but the mayor said it was still too much to be feasible.

"When I came into office, I was very excited about the possibility of municipal broadband until the study came back and indicated it would be literally the largest tax increase in Seattle," Murray said Monday at the conference, co-hosted by the nonprofit Next Century Cities and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

by Rachel Lerman, The Seattle Times

Full Story: http://www.govtech.com/dc/articles/Public-Private-Partnerships-Expand-Internet-Access-Seattle-Mayor.html