Georgia on my mind...

In 2013, Georgia’s House of Representatives killed a bill that would have prevented some municipalities from building their own public broadband networks.

Despite the lack of restrictions, high-speed access to the internet does not blanket the state.

Some numbers...

• In the state, there are 108 rural counties. Just ten of those counties have communities with municipal broadband. 
• Forty-percent of the state's rural population has fewer than two wireline broadband providers to choose from (compared to just four-percent for urban residents).   
• A side-by-side comparison to Pennsylvania where municipal broadband is restricted (see previous post).

Rural	GA	PA
# of Counties (Total)	108 (159)	48 (67)
% of total state population	75%	79%
% of rural population with choice of 2 (3) or more wireline providers	60.8% (19.4%)	86.3% (65.5%)
% of rural population with access to cable (fiber)	54.3% (11.6%)	78.8% (15.3%)
% of rural population with access to wireline download speeds of > 50 mbps (100mbps)	54.1% (46.2%)	68% (40.6%)
# of rural (total) counties with municipal broadband	10 (21)	1 (2)

In Georgia, population density is an issue.  In the vast majority of its counties, the number of persons per square mile is less than 100.  How do you get the economics to work when the the upfront expenditure, private or public, is so great and a timely return on that investment is by no means guaranteed?