The 16,000 residents of Newnan, Georgia can purchase broadband, cable television, and phone service from their local municipality. Those residents pay $25 a month for a broadband connection, and $30 a month for phone service (with features like callerID and voicemail at no extra cost). An additional $30, and those users can sign up for 74 channel cable. The shift we've been discussing for several years takes center stage in this Los Angeles Times article (free registration required, but worth it).

357 municipalities now offer service in the United States, with the number of cities offering their own service growing fifty-four percent in the last two years. In just the time we've been writing this report, the push has shifted from scattered communities considering the idea, to massive 18-city fiber deployment municipal plans, potentially offering service to nearly a million users (giving network equipment vendors a much needed boost in the process). It's no longer a question of whether or not it's a trend.

"This is like the history of electrification all over again and communities realize that if they don't roll their sleeves up and get involved, they are not going to get broadband and other advanced communication services," says Muni-lawyer Jim Baller to the times. Baller clarified much of the mystery surrounding municipal broadband when we interviewed him last summer. A must read for those who want to learn more about the issue.

Newnan joined the municipal push about seven years ago after failing to get BellSouth to upgrade deteriorating lines in the region. As Newman got into the broadband business, local competitors like Charter and BellSouth began to finally pay attention. Charter filed a lawsuit to prevent Newnan from offering cable, and according to the Times, eventually wound up offering Newman residents as much as $300 to switch to Charter service.

Charter and BellSouth argue they shouldn't be competing with the same organizations that often wind up regulating them. They also suggest that the munis have an unfair advantage, sometimes drawing from taxpayer funds to help fund operations. In a majority of the municipal regions, incumbents have responded with lawsuits, discounts, or anti-muni PR campaigns. "This is not about us being against competition," insists BellSouth Georgia president of operations Phil Jacobs. "We just want competition to take place on a level playing field."

The munis generally respond that they were born out of a lack of action to begin with, and if the communities vote for service, then they should be allowed to provide it without facing state-level bans, often backed by the incumbents.