Across the US, 31 communities have joined forces to make the dream of fast, affordable, and reliable gigabit-speed broadband a local reality. The Next Century Cities program, launched this week, hopes to defeat the forces holding broadband back. The 31 inaugural signatories are:

• Ammon, ID

• Auburn, IN

• Austin, TX

• Boston, MA

• Centennial, CO

• Champaign, IL

• Chattanooga, TN

• Clarksville, TN

• Jackson, TN

• Kansas City, KS

• Kansas City, MO

• Lafayette, LA

• Leverett, MA

• Louisville, KY

• Montrose, CO

• Morristown, TN

• Mount Vernon, WA

• Palo Alto, CA

• Ponca City, OK

• Portland, OR

• Raleigh, NC

• Rockport, ME

• San Antonio, TX

• Sandy, OR

• Santa Cruz County, CA

• Santa Monica, CA

• South Portland, ME

• Urbana, IL

• Westminster, MD

• Wilson, NC

• Winthrop, MN

Each community faces unique challenges, but they plan to collaborate on finding the best path that's tailored to their needs. Below is a video of yesterday's Santa Monica launch.