NextLight, the municipal broadband service for Longmont, Colo., offers a community-driven program that puts low-income families with school-age children on a path to high-speed Internet for no charge.

According to Pew Research Center, 15 percent of families with school-age children lack broadband at home. For low-income households (less than $30,000 annual income), the statistic is even worse at 35 percent. Despite this access problem, about 70 percent of teachers give homework that requires a reliable and sufficient Internet connection.