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For Rural Broadband, Sometime Cities Must Step In

Teresa Krug

   JONESBORO, ARKANSAS - A few years ago, the Oklahoma town of Tuttle
   suddenly found itself without cable or internet service after a local
   broadband provider went bankrupt, leaving behind unpaid bills to the
   power company.

   "Tuttle, we believe, became the largest city in America without cable
   service or internet service," said Tim Young, the town's city manager.

   Like the majority of cities in the U.S., Tuttle residents accessed
   broadband through private companies rather than through a city-run
   system. With the town of a few thousand growing quickly and attracting
   professionals from nearby Oklahoma City who were used to high-speed
   internet, Tuttle city officials began meeting with new private
   telecommunications companies to fill the gap.

   According to Young, every one of them expressed the same concern: the
   population wasn't big or dense enough to garner much of a profit.

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