Authored by NCTA – The Internet & Television Association
For city leaders, the definition of what qualifies as essential infrastructure has evolved. Water, roads and electricity were once the baseline of what a functioning city owed its residents. Today, reliable broadband connectivity also belongs on that list — as a connective tissue of modern economic and civic life. Work, education, health care and access to public services all increasingly depend on it. A resident without connectivity is structurally cut off from opportunity.
What makes this infrastructure challenge different from most that cities face, though, is that local government does not have to meet it alone — and in the most successful communities, it isn’t. Across America, public-private partnerships are doing some of the most effective work in urban connectivity by pairing local government’s community trust and institutional relationships with the private sector’s capital, technical expertise and scalable networks. In some states, these partnerships are required. That model is already delivering results, and the real opportunity for city leaders is to deepen it.
More Usage & More Value for Residents
American households are relying on the internet more than ever. Today, 96 percent of U.S. adults say they use the internet and 78 percent say they have a high-speed home connection. Families are streaming, video conferencing, gaming and managing daily life online, often all at once.
Despite that surge in demand, broadband remains a relatively small share of the household budget. The typical family pays about $75 per month for internet service, roughly 1 percent of household income and below the FCC’s 2 percent affordability benchmark.
This trend matters for city leaders. When essential services become unaffordable, existing gaps further widen. Broadband has moved in the opposite direction (PDF) by delivering more capacity and performance without a proportional increase in cost — but that trend only reaches residents if cities actively work to connect them to available services, programs and providers. That is where local government’s role becomes indispensable.
Competition & Investments Are Driving Results
The progress described above reflects years of sustained private investment and growing competition (PDF) between broadband providers. Over the past decade, providers have upgraded networks, expanded coverage and introduced faster tiers to meet rising consumer demand.
- By 2025, 96 percent of Americans had access to multiple high-speed internet options, up from less than 20 percent just ten years earlier. That increased competition is translating into real benefits for consumers: Real broadband prices declined between 2024 and 2025, even as available speeds increased
- Prices for 500 Mbps plans dropped 13 percent, while gigabit plans fell 9 percent
- Cable broadband prices declined by roughly 9 percent
- Overall broadband prices fell by about 8 percent
For residents, that means better performance for everyday needs — from work calls and homework to telehealth and small business transactions. For cities, it underscores a strategic point: the private sector is already investing heavily in broadband quality and coverage. The most effective role for local government is built on that investment through smart policy — reducing permitting friction and actively helping residents connect to the programs and providers already operating in their communities.
Low-Cost Options Are Closing Gaps
Some households need additional support to get and stay connected.
Broadband providers have expanded low-cost offerings, with many plans available between $15 to $30 per month for qualifying families. Over the past decade, these programs have helped connect more than 14 million Americans; internet adoption among households earning under $25,000 increased from 66 percent in 2019 to 79 percent in 2024.
That progress is real, but low-cost plans only reach residents who know they exist, trust the enrollment process and have someone in their community helping them navigate it. That is exactly where cities can come in: they are already trusted. Residents interact with schools, housing authorities, libraries, community centers and social services agencies in ways they do not interact with broadband providers. When cities use those channels to promote available connectivity programs, more residents subscribe to broadband.
A connected household can access education, municipal services, workforce programs, benefits portals, online banking and emergency information. A disconnected one faces compounding barriers that no amount of downstream city programming can fully overcome. The most cost-effective intervention cities can make for digital equity is often not a new program; it is activating the partnership infrastructure that already exists.
Public-Private Partnerships Help Cities Extend Impact
The best results in local broadband come when roles are clearly defined, and each partner does what it does best. Broadband providers bring capital, network infrastructure and technical expertise at scale. Providers have the engineering capacity to upgrade networks, deploy new technologies and maintain service reliability across thousands of miles of infrastructure.
Cities bring something equally irreplaceable: community trust and local knowledge that determine whether programs actually reach residents. City governments also control key levers that affect the pace and cost of private deployment, such as permitting timelines, rights-of-way, coordination with public utilities and land-use decisions that can either accelerate or delay network upgrades.
The most effective partnerships align these complementary assets toward shared outcomes. Concretely, that means cities can:
- Serve as trusted messengers for low-cost internet programs through schools, libraries, housing authorities and community-based organizations to increase enrollment among eligible residents
- Support digital skills and device access programs, recognizing that a broadband connection alone does not close the digital divide if residents lack the devices or skills to use it effectively
- Streamline local deployment processes — including permitting, pole access and right-of-way coordination — so private investment can move faster and reach more residents sooner
All this requires cities to be strategic partners who recognize that the infrastructure backbone is already being built by private providers who have every incentive to reach more customers.
Visit the NLC Strategic Partnerships page to learn more about organizations like NCTA – The Internet & Television Association dedicated to making NLC the premier resource for local governments.
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