That the City Manager is requested to create a plan with a schedule and milestones to move forward with the creation of a Municipal Broadband Network and present it for consideration by the Council at a Finance Committee meeting in the context of capital projects for coming years

O-3 FIRST IN COUNCIL February 10, 2025 City of Cambridge COUNCILLOR SOBRINHO-WHEELER COUNCILLOR SIDDIQUI COUNCILLOR NOLAN COUNCILLOR WILSON WHEREAS: The City commissioned Municipal Broadband Feasibility Study, the results of which were received in March 2023, concluded that a Municipal Broadband Network was feasible in the City of Cambridge, and WHEREAS: A statistically valid survey of Cambridge residents done as part of the Feasibility Study showed that 87% felt that Cambridge needed another ISP, 56% agreed or strongly agreed that “funding and construction of City-owned broadband infrastructure a top City spending priority” and that 66% agreed or strongly agreed that “the City should facilitate building a fiber broadband network, even if this requires a tax subsidy from the City;” and WHEREAS: The Feasibility Study found that Cambridge remains an effective monopoly for Comcast, the highly limited instances of competition insufficient to provide incentives for better service or pricing, and that the economics of the marketplace will dissuade others to enter the Cambridge market without government intervention; and WHEREAS: Municipal Broadband Service would bring the benefits of increased competition including reduced pricing, improved speed, reliability, and customer service for both residents and businesses; and WHEREAS: Municipal Broadband Service would include discounted internet access for those who cannot afford to pay the increasingly higher costs of access. This is a critical component of the city’s efforts to address digital equity; and WHEREAS: The city where the internet was invented deserves a “gold standard” network, a citywide fiber optic network to each premises, net neutrality, and infrastructure that would create a future proof network utility that would provide a competitive advantage to the City for decades to come; now therefore be it ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to create a plan with a schedule and milestones to move forward with the creation of a Municipal Broadband Network and present it for consideration by the Council at a Finance Committee meeting in the context of capital projects for coming years; and be it further ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to report back to the City Council in a timely manner.