Australian municipal governments have lagged behind many of their international counterparts in local public broadband provision. However, by 2014 there are signs that the gap is closing, with significant new investment in public wi-fi by city governments across Australia. This article contextualises the current interest in public wi-fi by analysing international developments in municipal broadband and the spasmodic involvement of Australian local authorities in this field. We argue that the rhetoric of broadband as a ‘fourth utility’ unduly prioritises the role of higher governments in Australia, constraining a full exploration of how broadband might be imagined as a form of civic infrastructure.
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