The Northwest Labor Press · “‘Now during the [COVID-19] emergency, broadband access is essential for people to be able to work, to get information for kids to be able to attend school, to get medical care, or to access services.’”

KBOO · “Internet access is an increasingly necessary part of everyday life, and for advocates of this idea, as it becomes less of a luxury expense, it should be democratized, and accessible for all people.”

FOX 12 · “Multnomah County is looking to become one of the nation's largest public internet providers. Wednesday, the leaders from the county and several city leaders came together to kick off talks on a public internet option.”

Portland Business Journal · “Pursuit of municipal broadband is meant to expand internet use and help bridge the digital divide, according to the county. Research has found that 15 percent of Portland-area households do not have internet access at home.”

Portland Mercury · “‘The digital equity gap is real in our county,’ said Bob Leek, who directs the county’s Department of County Assets, at a February county board meeting. ‘Access to connectivity should be like access to water and electricity.’”

Portland Monthly · “Municipal Broadband PDX became a nonprofit in 2018 and won a pledge of $250,000 from the county and five metro-area cities for a feasibility study, expected to be released this winter. That study aims to answer some daunting questions: the cost of the build-out (which could be around $500 million) and how to fund it, how long it would take, and how, exactly, we’d install the miles and miles of fiber.”

Wired · “A grassroots group called Municipal Broadband PDX is agitating for construction of a publicly owned open-access fiber network across the region. The city of Portland has contributed funds for a feasibility study and Multnomah County is on board with the idea.”

Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies at Portland State University’s Metroscape · “Portland bought out its privately owned water company in 1886. ‘We’re going to do the same thing for our digital infrastructure and our renewable energy grid that we did one-hundred years ago,’ said Hanna. ‘Broadband is actually the low-hanging fruit.’”

The Northwest Labor Press · “Now, coming soon to Portland City Council, is a union-backed plan for public-owned Internet access that would be cheaper than Comcast and 40 times as fast.”

The Oregonian · “‘We need to, at the very least, have a public conversation about this and figure out what the options are,’ said Sharon Meieran, Multnomah County commissioner. Her preference, Meieran said, would be a countywide network with discounted service for low-income households.”

Portland Mercury · “But there’s a different way to get online, and it might be a better one: An internet infrastructure that’s owned not by corporations, but by the public.”

The Skanner · “Advocates for making Internet access a public utility say access is critical for daily life activities and for getting ahead in society, that building out and maintaining a fiber network would create jobs and that revenue could help pay for needed services.”

KATU · “Municipal Broadband PDX says it's as essential for people to have access to affordable internet as it is to have water or electricity.”

Street Roots · “Campaign organizers believe that if Portland were to have its own public internet utility, it would protect users and businesses from the censorship and paid prioritization that have become a threat since the Federal Communications Commission recently repealed its net neutrality rules.”