People's Choice Communications

What People's Choice Communications does

People's Choice Communications is a worker-owned cooperative internet service provider founded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic by former Spectrum/Charter strikers, headquartered in the Bronx, New York (244 5th Ave Suite L241). The company delivers community-owned high-speed broadband to underserved urban populations across the New York/New Jersey metro area, including NYCHA public housing residents, affordable and supportive housing tenants, and educational institutions. It operates with a workforce of 251-500 employees and has secured earned media coverage in Forbes, Gothamist, and the EFF, positioning itself as an alternative to incumbent ISPs.

The company's core product is fixed broadband internet delivered via fiber optic and wireless access point technology, offered in three speed tiers — 200/200 Mbps at $30/month, 500/500 Mbps at $45/month, and 1 Gbps at $60/month. The company also runs a Digital Stewardship program that trains local residents as technicians and customer service staff, and supports a low-cost laptop offering at $11. Notable deployments include broadband for Immaculate Conception School (November 2020), Sacred Heart School (January 2021), and over 600 supportive housing units in the Bronx. The company partners with the FCC's Affordable Connectivity Benefit to extend free service to qualifying low-income households.

The business model is built on cooperative worker ownership, mission-aligned partnerships with building owners and housing authorities, and tiered subscription pricing deliberately positioned below incumbent ISPs. Revenue is generated through monthly subscription fees from individual subscribers and institutional customers, supplemented by hardware sales and federal broadband subsidies. The cooperative structure — which eliminates shareholder profit extraction — and the technical workforce drawn from former Spectrum strikers are central to both the company's cost position and its go-to-market differentiation in hard-to-serve affordable-housing segments.

Name

People's Choice Communications

Legal name

People's Choice Communications

Website

https://peopleschoice.coop

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

People's Choice Communications is a worker-owned cooperative ISP founded in 2020 that delivers community-owned fiber and wireless broadband internet (200 Mbps to 1 Gbps, $30-60/month) to underserved New York/New Jersey populations, including public housing residents, affordable housing tenants, and schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Internet Service Provider

NAICS

Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (517112)

SIC

Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813)

akta.pro primary industry

Municipal & Community Broadband ISPs (HDAIADAH)

Keywords

• Community broadband internet
• Fiber optic networks
• Affordable internet service
• Digital divide solutions
• Cooperative ISP services

Headquarters

HQ city

Bronx

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Internet Service Subscription: Monthly subscription fees for high-speed broadband internet service at tiered speed levels (200/200 Mbps, 500/500 Mbps, 1 Gbps). Revenue is reinvested into the community through the Digital Stewardship program and digital education initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

People's Choice Communications is a community-owned Internet Service Provider that deploys and operates high-speed broadband networks (fiber optic and wireless access point technology) for residential buildings across New York City. They sell tiered symmetric broadband subscriptions (200/200 Mbps, 500/500 Mbps, and 1 Gbps) at below-market prices, specializing in connecting public housing, affordable housing cooperatives, transitional/supportive housing, and shelters. The company reinvests subscription revenue into a Digital Stewardship program that trains local residents to help neighbors get online.

Product overview

People's Choice Communications is a community-owned Internet Service Provider offering tiered high-speed broadband internet services (200/200 Mbps, 500/500 Mbps, and 1 Gbps) to residential buildings and communities across New York City. The core offering combines network infrastructure installation (fiber optic and wireless access points) with the Digital Stewardship Program, which trains local residents to support their neighbors in getting online. The company specializes in serving public housing, affordable housing, cooperatives, and shelters, providing free or subsidized connectivity through the FCC Affordable Connectivity Benefit and American Broadband Act programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community-Owned High-Speed Broadband High-speed broadband internet service for residential buildings and communities across New York City, delivered over custom-designed fiber optic and wireless access point networks. Targets public housing (NYCHA), affordable housing cooperatives, transitional and supportive housing, and shelters. Offered in symmetric speed tiers (200/200 Mbps, 500/500 Mbps, 1 Gbps) with optional free service via the FCC Affordable Connectivity Benefit for qualifying households.
• Digital Stewardship Program Community engagement and digital literacy program that trains local network subscribers as Digital Stewards to assist their neighbors with getting online. Includes digital education, training, and ongoing support for subscribers in underserved New York City neighborhoods, with revenue from internet subscriptions reinvested to fund the program.

Quantifiable outcome

• 200/200 Mbps broadband service available for FREE to qualifying households
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Sonic: California-based independent ISP known for competitive pricing, privacy commitments, and fiber expansion. Comparable as an independent ISP competing against incumbents with strong net neutrality and customer-friendly positioning.
• T-Mobile Home Internet: Major wireless carrier's fixed-wireless home internet product using 5G. Competes for the same price-sensitive residential broadband market in NYC, leveraging nationwide scale and existing spectrum holdings that PCC lacks.
• Starry: Fixed-wireless home internet provider that uses rooftop antenna technology similar to PCC's hybrid fiber-wireless architecture. Comparable technology overlap (rooftop broadcasting) and competing for the same NYC multi-dwelling-unit broadband market.
• Charter/Spectrum: Largest incumbent cable broadband provider in NYC; PCC was founded by former Spectrum strikers and explicitly positions against Spectrum's pricing and labor practices in the same geography.
• Verizon Fios: Incumbent fiber-to-the-home provider with extensive NYC footprint. The primary incumbent PCC differentiates against on price, net neutrality, and community ownership in overlapping service areas.

Regional players

• Monkeybrains: San Francisco-based independent ISP with a similar independent, values-driven approach to providing affordable broadband. Comparable business model ethos (community-focused independent ISP) but operating in a different geography.

Others

• EveryoneOn: National nonprofit connecting low-income households to affordable internet and devices. Comparable mission alignment around digital equity, though operates as a referral/adoption intermediary rather than an infrastructure-based ISP.

Direct peers

• NYC Mesh: Community-owned mesh network in New York City providing free or low-cost internet to residents. Closely comparable to PCC as a community/values-driven ISP operating in the same NYC geography with a similar mission of bridging the digital divide.
• Pilot Fiber: NYC-based fiber-to-the-building ISP serving commercial and residential buildings. Comparable as a NYC building-focused broadband provider with similar building-owner partnership distribution, though primarily targeting commercial rather than affordable housing.
• Honest Networks: Building-focused broadband ISP in NYC that partners with landlords to deliver wired internet to residents. Directly comparable go-to-market model (B2B2C via building owners) and overlapping target customer base in multi-family housing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/peopleschoicecoop

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about People's Choice Communications