Thread by @nithyavraman

LAUSD classes will now be online-only into the fall. But many kids can't participate: they don’t have high-speed internet. It's one of many ways COVID-19 has exposed LA's digital divide.

But could LA provide internet access as a basic human right?

Let’s talk about it! (thread)

LA currently has among the slower broadband speeds of any city in America.

And because two-thirds of us have *only one option* for our internet provider, we’re often paying higher prices for poor service -- with no incentive for companies to improve. arnicusc.org/publications/c…

So many residents in LA County have no internet access at home.

25% of all families with K-12 students don’t have access to both a computer and a broadband connection.

In neighborhoods like East LA and Watts, the percentage leaps to more than half.
annenberg.usc.edu/news/research-…

Due to substantial upfront costs, telecom companies aren’t really interested in entering markets and restoring competition.

But LA can guarantee access equity by following the lead of other cities. We can invest in our own municipal broadband network.
curbed.com/2017/12/27/168…

LA has actually explored a city broadband network before! In 2013, we tried to lure a private company to come in and build it. But it went nowhere.

These public-private partnerships haven’t had much success anywhere. Fully public projects, however, have. arstechnica.com/information-te…

There are many public broadband networks that LA could model after -- an oft-cited success story is Chattanooga.

They built their own high-speed network, and residents now get online at a gig/second: more than 2x as fast as a similarly-priced plan in LA. thedailybeast.com/chattanooga-ha…

LA is bigger than Chattanooga, but it shares one advantage: a major city-owned utility company.

LADWP could leverage its pre-existing infrastructure to build out a public broadband network, offer discounted rates to residents, and spend savings and revenue on improving service.

While the initial cost of building our own fiber network in LA would be significant, studies of other municipal broadband projects indicate that they’ve recouped their costs in savings and profits within a few years -- including next door in Santa Monica. muninetworks.org/reports/santa-…

There are risks to building out city-owned broadband. Chattanooga saw gentrification and displacement once its network was done.

Any civic broadband must come with tenant protections, and a plan to funnel profits into housing affordability initiatives.
timesfreepress.com/news/local/sto…

Offering high-speed internet as a public utility wouldn’t be easy. But as schooling and job opportunities move online, we need to take dramatic action to ensure all Angelenos have access.

Check out our policy exploration of public broadband in LA here!

nithyaforthecity.com/public-broadba…