Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland announced Tuesday that he introduced an ordinance amendment to invest in a city-wide broadband network based on findings and suggestions from a CTC Energy and Technology report.
“Memphis can become one of the most connected cities in America, where every Memphian can participate in our digital society and economic opportunity benefits us all,” Strickland said in a statement. “Expanding our broadband networks will immediately transform communities throughout Memphis and equip the City to make Memphis more efficient for generations to come.”
In his announcement Tuesday, Strickland’s office cited federal data that shows “at least 32,000 households do not subscribe to any internet services of any speed or technology, and local economic development planners estimate that more than 45 percent do not subscribe to broadband-speed wired services.”
In Shelby County, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) estimated in 2021 that 99.7 percent of the rural and 97.9 percent of the urban population had access to three or more broadband providers.
Strickland’s office also noted, “Less than 25% of Memphis residents have access to best-in-class fiber internet.”
When it comes to internet speeds, the FCC estimated in the same year that 75.4 percent of the population in Shelby County did not have access to any service providers offering internet speeds of 1000 Mbps; however, 99.6 percent of the county had access to three or more broadband providers offering the standard speed of 25/3 Mbps.
Strickland’s announcement comes after recommendations by CTC Energy and Technology, an independent consulting firm that was hired by the city more than two years ago to “assess and develop a strategy to improve equity in communications and reduce the digital divide, advance citywide economic development and support the City’s Smart Memphis Plan.”
One of the CTC Energy and Technology report findings stated, “Affordability and adoption of broadband services represent critical challenges for Memphis.”
“Internet use in Memphis is high, but many lower-income Memphians purchase tiers of service below the FCC’s definition of “broadband.” These low-speed, asymmetrical connections limit Memphians’ ability to take full advantage of the economic, educational, and healthcare opportunities that depend on higher-speed connections,” the firm’s report added.
According to his office, Strickland’s ordinance amendment “is designed to incentivize investment from existing and new broadband network providers.” The ordinance amendment will specifically introduce “new permitting and fee requirements for telecommunications companies that ensure high-speed broadband availability in at least 60% of Memphis’ residential and business premises and 60% of low-income premises within the city.”
Municipalities are legally allowed to operate their own electric utilities to provide broadband internet within their electric service areas in Tennessee. However, as previously reported by The Tennessee Star, some Tennesseans have expressed great opposition to these government-owned broadband networks (GONs).
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
