Tag: Cleveland Utilities

Commentary: Cleveland Should Change Course on Risky Broadband Scheme

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Workers installing broadband internet

Most folks would agree that when it comes to your utility provider, the expectations are simple – a reliable service that provides clean water and functioning electricity. Focusing and delivering on these modest expectations should be the straightforward objective of any successful utility provider, which is why it’s so mind boggling to see that despite failing its customers on this front, Cleveland Utilities intends to move forward in its costly and risky pursuit to become a broadband internet provider. 

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Activists in Bradley County Request Government Owned Broadband Network Planned for Cleveland, Tennessee to be Approved by a Referendum

Kaitlin Housler

Leaders of four citizen groups representing “thousands of conservatives in Cleveland and Bradley County” have sent a letter to the City of Cleveland and its utility department, Cleveland Utilities, calling for the city’s proposed multi-million dollar broadband internet service plan to be approved by a referendum of the voters.

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Commentary: Cleveland Utilities’ Plan for Its Own Broadband System Is a Bad Bet for Local Taxpayers

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On Wednesday March 8th, city leaders received an earful from local residents and the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) when they took public comments about the city’s plan to build a $72 million municipal network through its electric utility Cleveland Utilities. TPA testified that the project is duplicative and unnecessary, and that there are numerous factors that raise concerns about its viability.

The city anticipates a take rate of 30 percent. In its research, including in the 2020 report “GON with the Wind: The Failed Promise of Government-Owned Networks,” TPA has found that expected take rate percentages rarely materialize when private providers respond to competition by adjusting pricing or services. This is particularly a concern in Cleveland, given that there are already several internet options in the city and Bradley County.  

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Activists in Cleveland, Tennessee Oppose Government Owned Network for Broadband Project

Kaitlin Housler

Leaders of three citizen groups representing “thousands of conservatives in Cleveland and Bradley County” have sent a letter to the city of Cleveland and its utility department, Cleveland Utilities, announcing their opposition to the city’s proposed multi-million dollar broadband internet service plan.

Currently under review by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Cleveland and Cleveland Utilities have proposed a government-owned broadband network (GON), costing an estimated $72 million.

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