Municipally owned broadband services have been central to a vision of Internet access as a utility, rather than a luxury. But high-profile municipal broadband projects in Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Chicago stalled in 2007 and 2008, as core public-private partnerships fell apart. The cost of meeting municipal requirements for coverage and pricing were key, recurring issues. If municipalities are to play a role in broadband provision, more needs to be learned from the wide range of experiments in this area--in many cases in small municipalities or outside the US. Sustainable business models and best practices need to be developed and reproduced. The Collaborative Grants project supported five studies designed to document and analyze these experiences, in order to put municipal broadband efforts on sounder footing.

• Alternative Media and Democratic Praxis: A Study of the Media Mobilizing Project in Philadelphia

  A study of the MMP's model of activism and community engagement in its campaign to hold Philadelphia and its municipal wireless provider (Earthlink) accountable for promises to citizens

  Primary Investigators: Peter Funke and Todd Wolfson, University of Pennsylvania; (Researcher Dan Berger, University of Pennsylvania)
  Partnering Organization: Media Mobilizing Project



• Building Community Communication Infrastructure: A Case Study of the Tribal Digital Village

  Documenting and analyzing basic telecommunications service gaps and community wireless solutions in Native American communities in rural Southern California

  Primary Investigator: Christian Sandvig, University of Illinois
  Partnering Organization: Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association




• From the Digital Divide to Digital Excellence: Global Best Practices for Community Wireless Networks

  A comparative analysis and search for best practices in international community wireless projects

  Primary Investigators: Sascha Meinrath, New America Foundation; Laura Forlano, Columbia University
  Partnering Organization: New America Foundation




• Toward a Taxonomy for Public Interest Communications Infrastructure
  

  The project will develop a standard data framework that will facilitate the coordinated collection of data on local communications infrastructure initiatives, and ultimately meaningful comparisons of their strategies and outcomes.

  Primary Investigator: Alison Powell, Concordia University
  Partnering Organization: Acorn Active Media Foundation; Ethos Group




• What's Meant By Digital Inclusion? An Interrogation of Municipal Broadband Policy in San Francisco

  A study of San Francisco's efforts to develop a "digital inclusion" strategy for its municipal wi-fi build out

  Primary Investigator: Seeta Peña Gangadharan, Stanford University
  Partnering Organization: Media Alliance