If Massachusetts is leading the nation in broadband expansion, we should be worried.

Last year, Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill to extend affordable high-speed Internet to thousands of Massachusetts residents. He has authorized $40 million in state bonds to develop public-private partnerships to connect the dozens of towns that still don’t have broadband access.

In effect, the funds grease the wheels for private companies to service the small communities they’ve long ignored because there was little financial incentive to connect them.

The plan sounds great – and in many ways, it is. Massachusetts is acknowledging that the health of the state’s economy is inextricably linked with Internet access. Just last week, Gov. Patrick said, “Internet is not a luxury, it’s a necessity,” – a line that comes straight out of our own talking points.

So why am I wringing my hands? Our public officials have an unprecedented opportunity to build public interest protections into the state’s broadband plan. But as of yet, there’s no indication that the Massachusetts Broadband Institute – the agency tasked with implementing the bill – is going to use public money to protect consumers from companies that overcharge, deny service or unfairly block Internet content.

Sure, desperate Massachusetts residents will finally be connected, and that’s no small thing. But in this digital age, creating a broadband plan that lacks protections against monopolies and fails to safeguard Net Neutrality is an empty action. If Internet users are subject to the whims of companies like Comcast and Verizon, which have already tried to block online content and price gouge their customers, then the freedom and openness that have made the Internet what it is today will soon be lost.

The MBI is doing the good work of holding two more public meetings this month to discuss their latest efforts to bring Internet to those without it. This is the opportunity to move beyond “we need broadband” (a message already communicated) to “we need broadband that provides access, choice, openness, and is future proof.”

Massachusetts is viewed as a leader in broadband access, and the federal government is looking at the state’s model. But if President Obama and the Federal Communications Commission take notes from Massachusetts right now, the nation won’t be much better off than it is now: Millions more people will be priced out of a broadband connection; we’ll still be at risk of losing the open platform that drives the Internet; and the massive phone and cable companies will strengthen their grip on connectivity.