Includes bibliographical references (215-243) and index.

The fiber future -- Transmitting light -- Why U.S. internet access is awful -- Community stories -- Sustaining economic growth -- Education and fiber -- Health and fiber -- Inequality and fiber -- Lessons from American communities -- What stands in the way? -- The need for federal policy.

The world of 5G, the next generation of telecommunication technology, will be as different from what came before as the world after the advent of electricity. The massive amounts of data we'll be able to stream through fiber-optic connections will enable a degree of virtual presence that will radically transform health care, education, urban administration and services, agriculture, retail sales, and offices. Yet all of those transformations will pale in comparison to the innovations that we can't even imagine today. In a fascinating account combining legal expertise with compelling on-the-ground reporting, Susan Crawford reveals how the giant corporations that control cable and internet access in the United States use their tremendous lobbying power to tilt the playing field against competition, holding back the infrastructure improvements necessary for the country to move forward. And she shows how a few cities and towns are fighting monopoly power to bring the next technological revolution to their communities.