This southwest Illinois technology director pushing for community broadband networks

Highland’s technology director is now leading an industry trade group to advocate for community broadband networks, an alternative to the commercial internet services.

Angela Imming has been Highland’s director of technology and innovation since 2014, which includes Highland Communications Service, a government-owned internet infrastructure.

“Ten years ago we endeavored to put fiber in the ground and operate our own internet service,” Imming said. “We are just like Charter, but rather than being owned privately or traded on the stock market, this is funded through enterprise funds.”

That means that HCS customers pay for their service like anyone else, not through tax money, but since it’s not focused on profit, Imming says it costs as much as two-thirds less than commercial internet. When first launched, the feasibility study projected that in 10 years, HCS would have 1,370 customers with $1.1 million annual revenue; the actual numbers are 2,700 customers with $3 million a year.

But not all communities have this option. In 18 states in the U.S., local governments are prohibited from running and owning their own broadband networks, and in others the red tape is extensive.

The reason, Imming said, is the industry spends $8 million per week on Capitol Hill to lobby for keeping internet service commercial.

“There’s never been a voice for fiber being considered the fourth utility,” Imming said. “Most of us in the industry understood that it should be — along with water, power and roads. We let local municipalities do infrastructure all day long; why wouldn’t we also do fiber?”

This becomes even more important in rural areas underserved by existing internet services. Imming said the U.S. has spent $2.8 trillion trying to get every American connected to high-speed internet, but 30 million Americans still don’t have that access, and those who do might not be able to afford it.

Why is internet access so important? The necessity of being connected was particularly apparent during the pandemic, Imming said, but its requirements were already clear: Applying for jobs, registering for college classes, even finding out the pollen content of the day all revolve around internet access. Everything from precision farming to remote education requires reliable, high-speed internet.

“When the pandemic hit, fortunately, nobody in Highland had to worry about it,” Imming said.

Her department set up wireless hotspots throughout the city, so even non-customers could sit in the Korte Recreation Center parking lot and access classes.

When federal funding and legislation related to COVID came through, Imming said, municipal networks “didn’t have a seat at the table.”

“When communities have a voice, it creates balanced policy that opens up better access to funding and opportunity,” she said.

But legislators often don’t have sufficient knowledge of how high-speed broadband works or industry norms.

“We’re here to change that, we’re here to definitively say that municipal broadband is a success and a necessity,” Imming said.

Telemedicine is another major factor. Imming said there is a direct relationship between access to internet and surviving cancer for people in rural areas.

“If it’s a two-hour round trip to be seen by an oncologist, telemedicine access has a blatant and obvious impact,” Imming said.

‘We have decided we need internet’

It’s a project of passion for Imming, who holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in public administration from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She is now chairman of the new American Association of Public Broadband, which will work to advance the interests of community networks in the U.S.

“At some point, people stopped arguing the value of putting pockets on pants,” Imming said. “At some point we decided sliced bread was practical. We have decided we need internet.”

AAPB is a 501(c)6 nonprofit advocacy group run by volunteers. To remain mission-focused, AAPB board members are required to be public officials representing communities that are developing, building or operating high-speed broadband networks. The group is still getting started, and will be searching soon for an executive director to head up their efforts.

Stumbling blocks

The big stumbling blocks for municipalities, Imming said, are state regulations and the daunting task of actually launching a municipal network. That’s also where AAPB comes in.

“Through advocacy and education, we are prepared to provide a voice at the national level to let the lawmakers know there’s a whole contingency of munis who want to do this,” Imming said. “And we want to engage with our local munis to see what the best model is for them ... It’s time for us to reach out to our neighbors and help connect America.”