People's Choice Communications, a community-owned internet cooperative founded by former Spectrum workers in 2020, aimed to provide fast, affordable internet in the Bronx. Despite initial success supported by the Affordable Connectivity Program, the co-op faced potential closure after being excluded from NYC's Big Apple Connect program, resulting in staff reductions. Their model focuses on mutual ownership, where profits are reinvested into community services rather than distributed to shareholders. The project began after 1,800 Spectrum workers went on strike in 2017, showcasing a growing movement for equitable broadband access in the U.S.
No one believed that we could actually build out the system, and then we built it.
Instead of giving a lot of profits to, like, CEOs, etcetera, we take those profits and reinvest back into the system to also help provide service to those areas that normally wouldn't be served by a strictly profit-motive driven ISP.
People's Choice used a mesh network to get buildings online, installing millimeter-wave antennas on rooftops to receive signals.
The story of the co-op is an unlikely and rare tale of broadband connectivity in the US.
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