The following is a study that examines the justifications for and arguments against municipal involvement in providing telecommunications services (e.g. acting as an Internet Service Provider and/or cable television provider) and interprets the results of an eReadiness survey of Michigan’s 14 regional planning councils, and also examines five case study examples - three unique initiatives at the local or municipal scale where local governments have been proactive in the provision of broadband infrastructure and two county-level initiatives.