Blackbeard , 5 months ago (edited 5 months ago)

introduce legislation to explicitly allow municipal internet access, etc.

Municipal broadband is illegal in North Carolina. In the early 2000s one small city pushed forward with municipal broadband, and the North Carolina Telecommunication Association, an industry lobby group, lobbied the North Carolina General Assembly for a state bill to make it nearly impossible for a city to run its own internet service. Over the course of six years, the telecommunication industry gave $1.6 million to state candidates and political parties. AT&T gave over $520,000 and Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum) and CenturyLink each gave over $300,000. Then, in 2011, both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly were won by Republicans for the first time since Reconstruction. The bill passed and was signed into law.

Proving once again that until Republicans are voted out of office en masse, only an infinitesimal fraction of the programs and initiatives that real people want will ever see the light of day. Unfortunately there’s only so much Democrats in the White House and Congress can do as long as people keep voting against their own self interest.

edit to add:

Oh, and how’s this for an interesting timeline:

2006: City of Wilson begins municipal broadband program

2011: Thom Tillis (Speaker of the House) helps pass S.L. 2011-84 to effectively ban municipal broadband

2015: The FCC stepped in to green light Wilson’s program and preempt S.L. 2011-84, and Tillis was elected to the US Senate

2016: A federal appeals court ruled that the FCC overstepped its authority in preempting NC’s ban, and Tillis cheered

2020: Tillis re-elected

2023: Tillis brags about Biden’s BIL, which sent $1.53 billion to NC via the BEAD Program, and NC DIT’s own BEAD 5-Year Plan had this to say:

The result [of S.L. 2011-84] is a limit on the number of options available for broadband service, particularly in areas where the private sector is not providing adequate, affordable service. Several municipalities were grandfathered and allowed to continue service with certain geographical restrictions. (NCGS 160A-340) Additionally, this statute created a chilling effect for local governments interested in exploring alternative networks like open access networks. Municipalities that own conduit and dark fiber have been reluctant to lease their infrastructure to private internet service providers or create open access networks operated by a private entity for fear of violating the statute.