New Haven drops plans to build public, high-speed internet service

Fiber internet? City embraces fed subsidies, private service.

October 8, 2022

Because the Biden Administration has chosen to ​“build back better,” the Elicker Administration has chosen not to build its own new municipal broadband network after all.

Mayor Justin Elicker and city Economic Development Officer Dean Mack explained that shift in plans during an internet-focused interview with the Independent.

They said that, instead of pursuing tentative plans to build out a newmunicipal broadband network, City Hall intends to focus its internet-access-expansion efforts on boosting existing, mostly private, services. 

That includes promoting underused federal subsidies for low-income residents, encouraging current providers to follow through on their citywide expansion plans, trying to attract new high-speed internet companies to come to town, and using a wealth of federal dollars to improve equitable internet access across New Haven, particularly for residents of multi-family houses and apartment buildings.