While it's true that many municipal fiber and wireless broadband projects have failed due to the incompetence of those deploying them, it's also true that there's a very broad coalition of industry interests lined up to ensure that these projects not only fail, but that they're properly maligned at every possible opportunity. Despite this, Telephony Online notes that municipal broadband lives on, largely because industry remains unwilling to fill the broadband coverage caps that created the concept in the first place.According to the article, recent failures have resulted in a new push, where projects are "more practically grounded in market realities," and municipalities are more interested in being ISPs instead of wholesalers. State laws (passed in 14 states) lobbied for by incumbent ISPs that either forced towns and cities to be wholesalers or banned them from offering service are also getting harder to pass, as bigger pocketed opponents (like Google) step into the ring.

The discussion of a national broadband policy also means more people are paying attention to the nation's broadband coverage gaps. That in turn means more people are noticing the longstanding incumbent ISP hypocrisy of not wiring an area, then bringing out the lawyers when those areas attempt to wire themselves.