TPA Releases “GON with the Wind II” Broadband Report

For Immediate Release                                                 Contact: Abigail Graham: (202) 417-7235

April 26, 2023                                                                          

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) and American Action Forum (AAF) released “GON with the Wind II: Frankly, Taxpayers Do Care.” The report is a follow-up to TPA’s 2020 report, “GON with the Wind: The Failed Promise of Government Owned Networks Across the Country.” The report  was co-authored by Johnny Kampis, TPA Director of Telecom Policy and Jeffrey Westling, Director of Technology and Innovation Policy at AAF. The report analyzes how taxpayer dollars are dispersed for broadband deployment and how government owned networks (GONs) in cities across the country are wasteful, redundant, and inefficient in closing the digital divide.

“There are at least 16 federal programs totaling more than $413 billion that provide funding for broadband deployment. With this massive amount of taxpayer money, it is of utmost importance that leaders get this right. But, there continues to be a desire from many bureaucrats to funnel this money into government-owned, taxpayer-funded networks, which will lead to overbuilding in many locations in the U.S.,” said Kampis. “As TPA’s research on the topic – including this report – has shown, those types of networks often fail or require additional taxpayer subsidies. Neither result will help close the digital divide.”

“With limited funds available to address broadband access and adoption, it is critical that Congress and state governments don’t stifle market competition by focusing subsidies on government-owned networks,” said Westling. “Too often, these networks are considered a silver bullet, but this report highlights how often they fail to deliver on promises—leaving taxpayers on the hook with worse options for connectivity.”

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Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.