Viewpoints

If we are to treat broadband as essential infrastructure, then we must ensure that public BEAD investments result in long-term public value.

By: Richard Watts, Chief Commercial Officer, International Fiber Alliance

As billions of federal dollars flow through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, states and municipalities face a pivotal decision: whether to relinquish long-term control of their digital infrastructure to private internet service providers (ISPs), or to retain ownership and manage its use in alignment with the public good.

This is not a theoretical debate. It is a foundational question about the nature of public investment and the digital future of America’s communities.

Public investment demands public benefit

At its core, the rationale behind BEAD is clear — government support is needed where market economics fail. In underserved rural and low-income communities, commercial fiber deployment is often deemed unprofitable by the private sector. Public funding is then needed to fill that void.

But if we are to treat broadband as essential infrastructure, as vital as roads, water systems, and power grids, then we must ensure that public investments result in long-term public value.

The risk of privatized monopolies

Under the current BEAD framework, funding is distributed through competitive grants, with recipients required to contribute at least 25 percent of project costs.

While this is intended to ensure commitment and accountability, in practice, the required match can often come from other public sources, such as state or municipal budgets. This creates a scenario where the total infrastructure cost is effectively fully funded by the public sector, yet ownership and long-term control are granted to private ISPs.

This model raises significant policy concerns. It enables publicly subsidized monopolies where a single provider owns the infrastructure, sets the terms of access, and often offers services under its own brand name. It is under no obligation to align its operations with broader community priorities such as affordability, and public sector services.

There are established models that strike a more balanced approach by apportioning elements of the network to public ownership. Municipalities and public utilities in several states have retained control of “middle mile” infrastructure, such as fiber rings, backbone networks, or regional backhaul routes, which serve as shared digital highways for multiple providers.

Where public funds are building the last mile, this can prioritize digital use cases such as street cameras, connecting municipal buildings, as well as serving residential and business premises.

This separation of infrastructure layers enables the public sector to preserve strategic control over their essential assets while still leveraging private sector innovation and competition in service delivery. It also provides a stronger foundation for open networks for multiple retailers and reduces the risk of stranded or underutilized assets in the event of ISP failure or market exit.

For BEAD to deliver lasting value, states should seriously consider hybrid ownership models, ensuring that public investment builds not just connections, but durable community infrastructure aligned with long-term digital goals.

A smarter model: Public ownership + private operation

We should look to proven models from other public infrastructure sectors, where public investment results in public ownership, and apply the same logic to broadband. Real estate offers a clear analogy: when federal dollars fund the construction of public buildings, those assets are not handed over to private interests.

Instead, they are retained by the public body and leased on fair market terms. The same principle should apply to digital infrastructure. Telecom ducts and fiber are durable, high-value assets that should remain in public hands.

Under this model, municipalities would competitively tender the construction of passive infrastructure (ducts and fiber) and retain ownership once built. They would then partner with specialized fiber operators to invest in the active electronics and software, and to manage and commercialize the network on an open wholesale basis.

ISPs, whether local or national, could then access the network under equitable, and transparent conditions ensuring a fair return for private providers while safeguarding affordability and choice for consumers. This approach creates a healthy, competitive broadband marketplace, gives access to a larger universe of potential customers for ISPs, and ensures that public investment continues to deliver value long after construction ends.

This model offers:

• Strategic control for local government
• Revenue generation through wholesale access fees
• Reinvestment potential in local tech initiatives and digital literacy
• Transparency and accountability in service provision

Countries like Sweden and the United Kingdom have successfully implemented this framework, resulting in more equitable, futureproof digital access for their communities.

Neutral host access: Unlocking competition and innovation

A cornerstone of this public-first approach is open access. Allowing multiple ISPs to operate on the same network, whether at the passive fiber layer or at the active layer through shared network management, democratizes the digital landscape.

Open access through a neutral host operator is not only fairer; it’s smarter. It reduces overbuild, promotes affordability, and accelerates innovation by creating a level playing field for new market entrants. It also enables aggregation of networks so ISPs can sell on multiple networks and not just the ones they have built.

BEAD’s inclusion of open-access principles is a step in the right direction, but states must go further. They must ensure these principles are baked into infrastructure ownership and operation from the outset.

The role of LEO satellites — and why fiber still reigns

A one-size-fits-all approach to connectivity is neither practical nor advisable. In America’s most remote and hard-to-reach areas, low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites will undoubtedly play a vital role in extending broadband coverage where terrestrial infrastructure is not feasible.

However, fiber must remain the foundation of a national broadband strategy. Its unmatched reliability, scalability, capacity, and resilience make it the most futureproof investment, particularly as demand surges due to AI, edge computing, and other data-intensive applications that are growing at an exponential pace.

Crucially, fiber also delivers ultra-low latency being an essential requirement for next generation technologies such as autonomous vehicles, drones, remote surgery, and real-time industrial automation. These applications cannot tolerate the delay inherent in even the fastest satellite connections. As connectivity becomes a core enabler of critical infrastructure and public safety, latency is not just a technical detail it’s a foundational performance standard that only fiber can consistently meet.

A vision of local empowerment

Imagine a state where the community owns the fiber under its feet. Where residents benefit from affordable, reliable broadband delivered by a diverse market of ISPs. Where local governments collect revenue from wholesale fiber access and reinvest those funds into public Wi-Fi, telehealth programs, STEM education, and digital inclusion.

This is not a pipe dream it’s a proven path, if we choose to take it.

A call to the wise

As states finalize their BEAD strategies, the choice is stark: do we enable long-term private monopolies funded by public money, or do we empower local governments to become stewards of their digital futures?

The latter option, public ownership with professional neutral host fiber operator partnerships, provides the best balance of control, expertise, and community return.

We must ensure that the next generation of American digital infrastructure serves the people who paid for it.

Anything less would be a failure of imagination and of responsibility.

International Fiber Alliance (IFA) is a neutral host fiber operator. IFA aggregates network investments through a single platform system allowing multiple service providers to deliver innovative solutions to their customers.

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