In an effort to forewarn new communities from making the same mistake, we trace the history of failed government-owned internet that has cost taxpayers dearly and left communities unable to deliver critical municipal services that affect everyday quality of life. Pick a location to learn more…
Opelika, AL
A 2017 audit found the Opelika Power Service (OPS) system “had a negative balance of $13.4 million.” Its signature gigabit-speed service had failed to appeal to customers. In 2018, the city announced it would sell the system for $14 million –
a loss of $29 million. (That’s equivalent to
a loss of $2,200+ for each of OPS’ 13,000 customers!)
Tucson, AZ
Tucson’s $7 million municipal internet network connected just 1,000 homes, meaning the city spent nearly $7,000 per household served – more than 6 times the typical annual cost for service. The former IT department head overseeing the effort resigned from the project officials called an
“embarrassment” and “indefensible.”San Bruno, CA
The city was forced to sell its internet system for just $8 million after being unable to fund needed infrastructure upgrades, racking up $21.5 million in debt and falling behind competitors. A city councilmember and lifelong San Bruno resident said of the project: “
This outcome was inevitable. I wish it had happened sooner before it had accrued so much debt.”
Alameda, CA
In 2008, Alameda Power & Telecom sold the community’s network to Comcast for $17.4 million. Per estimates from the city’s treasurer and auditor at the time, the net loss of the venture was more than $60 million.Eagle-Net, CO
After a $100 million investment, Eagle-Net paused construction in 2012 following an NTIA request regarding “potential lack of compliance” with grant terms, and its funding was suspended. By 2015, private operator, Zayo, took over network oversight, but its involvement was not enough to save the project and by June 2017, the Eagle-Net Alliance was dissolved.Fort Collins, CO
Fort Collins recently added broadband as a utility service, but the city-owned internet system has struggled to acquire customers and complete its deployment on time and on budget. The network’s operating expenses are exceeding its revenues, resulting in negative net income. As of June 2023, FCC data showed the system was only available to about 55% of households, in spite of the community’s $157 million+ investment.Groton, CT
The local utility launched a cable network to offset sagging electric sales. The network struggled from the start and lost $2 million+ in a year. Groton eventually sold the failing network at a $30 million loss.Dunnellon, FL
In 2011, the city decided to build its own fiber network and by 2013, the system had become financially unsustainable. In October 2023, the city sold the system to a private entity for $1 million, leaving local residents to pay off the remaining $7 million in debt.North Florida Broadband Authority (NFBA), FL
NFBA was quickly beset by organizational issues and a lack of demand, despite the initial $30 million investment. By 2013, eight of the fourteen participating counties had backed out of NFBA, and the Authority struck an NTIA-brokered deal with a seemingly unheard-of private entity to take over the network. The network is now defunct.Quincy, FL
Quincy borrowed over $3 million in 2003 to deploy its own fiber-to-the-home system. By 2005, the system had failed to generate revenues to become financially viable. It eventually went out of business, leaving taxpayers with millions in outstanding debt obligations.Marietta, GA
In 2004, the city announced the sale of its GON, FiberNet, for $12.2 million to American Fiber Systems, a loss on the approximately $35 million spent to build and operate the network.Crawfordsville, IN
Crawfordsville Electric Light & Power (CELP) invested $16.6 million to deploy a fiber network and went live in 2007. Several years later, the city elected to sell the failing network to Metronet for $5.2 million, representing a loss of more than $11 million.Lawrenceburg, IN
Lawrenceburg Municipal Utilities (LMU) invested approximately $10 million to build a citywide fiber to the home (FTTH) network. The network struggled to attract the customers needed to stay afloat and the city eventually sold the network for $3 million to Altafiber – a loss of $7 million.Statewide KY
Kentucky spent $1.5 billion to build KentuckyWired, the state’s middle-mile fiber network project. If not for a state bailout in 2018, the network would have gone bankrupt. Currently, the state is searching for a new administrator, and the system is at risk of “going dark.”Ruston, LA
Ruston spent at least $6.5 million to build its government-owned internet network. In 2022, officials decided to halt residential expansion plans and seek a buyer for the network, with the city’s mayor stating fiber was not the city’s “strong suit.” The city sold its network to RightFiber in March 2025.Braintree, MA
In the early 2000’s, the Braintree Electric Light Department (BELD) upgraded its network to deliver internet service, but by 2017, operating expenses far exceeded revenues. Rather than undertake expensive – and much-needed – upgrades, BELD elected to sell its broadband network to Comcast.Russell, MA
Russell built a municipal cable TV network in 1988 and later added internet service. However, upgrade costs made maintaining the system prohibitive, and Russell ultimately elected to sell off the system – and its 213 customers – to Comcast for a mere $250,000.Traverse City, MI
In 2007, Traverse City Light & Power (TCLP) deployed a small-scale fiber network and by 2021, the network showed a net operating loss of $329,000 in its first full year of operation. These losses have continued, with TCLP’s 2023 financials showing $51,000 in lost revenue.Coldwater, MI
The Coldwater Board of Public Utilities (CBPU) deployed a cable system in the late 1990s and over time, began offering broadband. By the mid-2010’s the network was operating in the red. While the system has seen slight revenue growth since its $6 million fiber network upgrade, it continues to incur operating losses.Statewide MN
Due to ongoing challenges, Minnesota’s RS Fiber Cooperative proposed selling its assets for $14 million, which would retire its nearly $13 million debt obligation. However, nearly $6 million of debt would remain for the nine cities in the cooperative.Lake County, MN
The county government-driven effort to bring broadband was “the largest rural broadband project in Minnesota” and received $66 million in total rural utilities service (RUS) loans, but it quickly ran into financial trouble. By December 2018, the county accepted a bid of $8.4 million for the system, which represented a $40 million loss on the network.Monticello, MN
After overestimating subscriber demand and struggling to gain market share, the local government dipped into several tax funds to prop up the failing GON, costing the city more than $30 million. Eventually, the system defaulted on its debt obligations, settling with creditors for less than $0.50 on the dollar. Then, in 2016, the city contracted with a private entity to operate and manage the network on its behalf, which still receives a management fee to this day.Alexandria, MN
In 2022, Alexandria Light and Power (ALP) began exploring a sale of its GON. By 2023, the utility finalized the sale of its broadband network to Arvig for $3.25 million.Houston, MO
Construction began in 2021 for a $3 million fiber to the home (FTTH) network, but customer connections to the network have lagged, leaving the city to sell the internet service in March 2025 for $2.15 million.Charlotte, NC
The Charlotte Suburbs municipal cable GON was sold at a $10 million loss after investing more than $90 million into the network.Salisbury, NC
The city deployed this ambitious fiber to the home (FTTH) gig system in 2010, and after 8 years, the city had failed to achieve its goal of securing 4,500 total subscribers by 2015. To further prop up the network, the city transferred another $3.2 million in 2017, which led them to lease to a third-party, Hotwire. Hotwire now operates the muni system, but the city remains responsible for paying down over $20 million in debt.Bryan, OH
In August 2024, Bryan Municipal Utility’s director released a letter announcing that internet service would be discontinued by December. The letter cited “declining revenues, customer subscriptions and the substantial capital investment required to replace obsolete equipment” as reasons why the service “can no longer be competitive.”Fairlawn, OH
City-owned broadband network, Fairlawn Gig, has experienced operating losses every year of its existence, totaling nearly $4 million in losses between 2016 and 2020. This forced the city to provide additional support with annual transfers from its general fund, leaving local taxpayers with significant debt while diverting funds from critical community infrastructure and needs.Hudson, OH
The City of Hudson drastically scaled back its government-owned network, Hudson Velocity, due to poor financial results. According to recent data, the network has approximately 400 customers in a city of 22,000 people.Lebanon, OH
After racking up debt of more than $10 million, Lebanon sold its city-owned broadband system, Lebanon Telecom, to a private company, which incurred more than $1 million in losses to local taxpayers.Portland, OR
The Portland GON was contracted in 2006 with MetroFi to cover 95% of the city, but by the time of their shutdown in 2008, less than 30% of the city was covered. The company could not expand or operate the network without additional funding, despite already investing more than $10 million in the project.Lancaster, PA
In 2024, the city announced the GON project would be discontinued after a $1.7 million investment from water fund bonds because a disagreement between the city’s contractor/operator and the regional electric utility regarding pole access “brought progress on the network to a halt, with only roughly 160 subscribers signed up for service.”Philadelphia, PA
The plans behind the Wireless Philadelphia (WP) GON never fully materialized. WP disregarded the recommendations that grew out of the public process, and instead they yielded to political pressure and accepted EarthLink’s bid to own and operate the network.Pitcairn, PA
For many years, this muni cable system treaded water, but once Verizon entered the market, customers left this system in droves. Nearly two-thirds of their subscriber base left from 2008 to 2013, which led to the ultimate closure of the system in July 2016.Memphis, TN
The Memphis Light, Gas, and Water Division’s GON, Memphis Networx, was made available to the public, but by less than five years later, it was clear that this undertaking was a big financial mistake, and was sold off to a private company at a $20.5 million loss in 2017.Fayetteville, TN
Fayetteville Public Utilities rolled out its broadband network in 2000, investing more than $11 million into the project. Fayetteville’s GON will take more than 60 years – as much as double the useful life of the network – to make money.Pulaski, TN
In 2005, Pulaski Electric System poured around $8.5 million into building out its GON, PES Energize. However, the GON’s rate of return was so poor that it would take between 450 and 500 years to break even.Morristown, TN
In 2006, Morristown Utility Systems (MUS) rolled out its GON, MUS Fibernet, for over $25 million. Over the years, interest in this GON was so low that it could not cover basic operational costs and it was determined that it would never break even.Clarksville, TN
In 2007, the Clarksville Department of Electricity (CDE) rolled out its fiber network, which was projected to cost $40.2 million. Between construction cost overruns and basic operational expenses that could not be covered, CDE was forced to borrow an additional $20 million from the city.Johnson City, TN
In 2018, the municipal utility, BrightRidge, announced its intention to pursue a hybrid wireless and fiber to the home (FTTH) project. However, despite the more than $64 million investment, the take rate was three times lower than projected, sitting at 14%, and operating expenses were considerably higher than initially estimated, resulting in substantial annual losses for the city.Newport, TN
As of 2024, Newport Utilities’ GON has experienced several years of net operating losses and a negative net position of over $3 million. Even though their consultant, Magellan Advisors, projected their operating expenses to be much lower.Dayton, TX
In 2020, the city approved a municipal fiber network project, which was funded by $13.7 million in debt. Since going live, the network has struggled to generate enough revenue to sustain itself and city budget documents indicate that they expect the GON to continue operating in the red for several years. As a result, in 2023, the city issued an RFP seeking a buyer despite the network still being under construction.Utopia, UT
Sixteen cities in Utah joined together to build a GON in 2002, and from the start, it was a financial disaster – having yet to turn a profit by 2016. Since then, the cities have now invested more than $60 million in the GON, and the remaining member cities are experimenting with new deployment models in an effort to keep the system afloat, with some residents still waiting over two decades to finally receive service.Provo, UT
This $60 million+ open-access fiber to the home (FTTH) system was deployed by the city, most of which was financed with debt, but slow revenue growth impacted their ability to cover their debts. This resulted in the city eventually selling off the system to Google for $1, leaving them and their residents to pay off about $40 million in debt.Burlington, VT
The system was launched in the late 2000s but struggled to gain its financial footing. The system was such a burden on the city that its credit rating was downgraded on several occasions, and its largest creditor eventually sued for outstanding debt. To settle that dispute, the city finalized the sale of the system in December 2017.Bristol, VA
While the system initially showed a promise of strong financial viability, the network began to struggle financially, compounded by corruption at the parent utility. The network eventually failed and was sold to a private company at an $80+ million loss for the city.Chelan County, WA
In 2010, the Chelan County Public Utilities District (PUD) decided to build an open-access fiber network for $80 million. However, costs quickly rose to $110 million, and by 2012, local officials intervened to sort out the GON’s financials and agreed to write off $99 million in interfund loans from the county. The system continues to rely on interfund transfers to remain afloat and has continued to operate in the red, exceeding revenues by $1.6 million in 2022.Tacoma, WA
In 1999, Tacoma Power built a hybrid fiber network and began offering cable TV and internet services, but they required annual infusions of millions of dollars in funding from the city. In 2015, they found the only viable path forward for the GON was to transfer operations to a private entity, an acknowledgment that the city’s municipal broadband experiment had failed.
