by Aaron Gulbransen
As Tennessee prepares to deploy more than $813 million in federal broadband funding, lawmakers and citizens alike must take a hard look at what’s happening next door in Kentucky – and do everything in our power to not repeat it.
The collapse of KentuckyWired, the state’s $1.5 billion government-owned broadband network (GON), should be a flashing red light for anyone considering similar projects in Tennessee. This taxpayer-funded venture was sold to Kentuckians as a transformative step toward rural connectivity. Instead, it’s turned into a mess of delays, cost overruns, broken promises and – most tellingly – an underused network that’s failing to deliver results.
According to a recent public statement from Accelecom, the third-party provider contracted to manage the system, the real problem lies with the state agency overseeing the project: the Kentucky Communications Network Authority (KCNA). Accelecom accuses KCNA of gross mismanagement, neglecting infrastructure and even giving away parts of the network just to complete construction. Meanwhile, thousands of Kentuckians remain without high-speed internet, and the system is reportedly under-leased, underutilized and not even close to recouping its costs.
Sound familiar? It should. Government-owned networks have a track record of overpromising, overspending, and underdelivering. Time and again, public agencies overestimate how many people will sign up and underestimate how much it will cost to build and operate. The result? Taxpayers left holding the bag for projects that don’t pay off – and worse, GONs actively discourage private investment in the areas that need it most.
Tennessee should not make the same mistake.
There is a better way. Rather than competing with private broadband providers, the state should be partnering with them – creating incentives for expansion, especially into underserved and rural areas. The role of government should be to facilitate and de-risk private investment, not to build duplicative infrastructure that competes with the very companies we rely on for innovation and service delivery.
The rapid growth of broadband technologies – from fiber and fixed wireless to low-earth orbit satellite service – has made government-owned networks increasingly obsolete. Today, experienced, private-sector providers are delivering faster, more reliable service using a variety of tools tailored to different geographies and needs. In this competitive landscape, building costly, state-owned infrastructure is not just inefficient – it’s counterproductive. Government-owned networks often discourage private investment by creating unfair, taxpayer-subsidized competition that distorts the market and delays true long-term connectivity, all while putting taxpayers at long-term risk to cover the fiscal risk that GONs create, rather than have the private sector shoulder the risk.
We’re already seeing troubling signs of this in Tennessee. Take the Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB), for example. Its broadband venture has raised serious concerns about cost recovery, subscription projections, and long-term viability. If KUB’s experience tells us anything, it’s that government networks are not nimble, financially unsustainable, and not responsive to market demands.
The reality is this: broadband expansion is too important to leave in the hands of government agencies with no skin in the game. Let private companies take on the risk – and let them compete to provide the best service possible. That’s how we encourage innovation, improve service quality and extend coverage responsibly.
Tennessee is at a crossroads. With $813 million in BEAD funds on the table, we have an opportunity to do this the right way. Let’s resist the urge to follow Kentucky down the path of centralized control, bureaucratic waste and broken promises. Instead, let’s trust in the private sector, apply market principles and ensure every taxpayer dollar delivers real results.
KentuckyWired is a cautionary tale. Let’s learn from it – before Tennessee becomes the next case study in what not to do.
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Aaron Gulbransen is the CEO of The Tennessee Conservatives Coalition.
And think about how much easier you are making it for the federal government to scoop up all of your online data.