The internet is broken.
New York City can fix it.
New York City has an access problem.
Applying for a job. Helping your kid with homework. Scheduling a doctor’s appointment. For millions of New Yorkers, these seemingly straightforward tasks become impossible – or impossibly expensive thanks to the lack of broadband access.
ISPs only build where it’s profitable.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Verizon, Optimum, and Spectrum lock in landlords, lock out competition, and charge New Yorkers up to $299/month for mediocre speeds. As a result, one-third of Black and Hispanic households have no broadband at all. This isn’t a market failure. It’s a policy choice and NYC can make a different one.
New Yorkers are being shut out of jobs, education, and civic participation all because of digital exclusion. Access to the internet is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.
Public broadband pipes remain untapped: Thousands of potential fiber connections span our neighborhoods.
The city already has the infrastructure.
Fiber-based broadband tunnels through the city much like NYC’s subway, making stops at over 1,800+ schools, hundreds of libraries, and NYCHA buildings across all five boroughs. CityNet connects hundreds of city agencies. The city controls these underground broadband pipelines and can require the installation of more whenever streets are dug open.
When the city owns the pipes, it requires providers to compete on equal terms causing prices to drop and service to improve. The open-access model will give New Yorkers something we’ve rarely had before – choice.
When we get to choose our preferred ISP, we force them to stop charging us inflated monopoly prices. Open-access infrastructure has been well-proven in cities across New York state and the U.S.
Coalition Partners
New Yorkers across all boroughs have a right to transparent & affordable pricing, more ISP options, and faster internet speeds. The Internet for All campaign seeks to deliver on this promise.
New York City can join municipalities across the country that are taking control of this essential utility. The infrastructure is here. The successful models exist. The only question is whether we have the political will to make internet access a right, not a privilege.
