Marco Rubio Defends AT&T in Fight Over Community Broadband Presidential candidate Marco Rubio was among a handful of fellow legislators this week that scolded the FCC for a February attempt to improve broadband competition. As we've noted for years, incumbent ISPs like AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner Cable have literally bought and written roughly 20 state laws that hinder or outright prohibit towns and cities from building their own broadband networks, even in cases where a private ISP refuses to upgrade or even serve them.

After years of ignoring what can only be called protectionism, the FCC earlier this year finally voted to take aim at two such laws in North Carolina and Tennessee. The FCC stated the laws (again, written by ISPs and pushed via ALEC ) interfere with the agency's Congressional mandate to ensure even broadband deployment. Rubio, a recipient of significant AT&T campaign cash, was one of eight lawmakers to fire off a letter to the FCC (pdf) this week scolding the agency for standing up to the industry's telecom giants: quote: ...The FCC is promoting government-owned networks at the possible expense of private sector broadband providers -- both incumbents and competitors -- who have made strides to deploy networks throughout the country. Municipal broadband networks not only run the risk of overbuilding existing private networks, they could also result in the loss of limited universal service funds for carriers who are delivering broadband to rural Americans. The FCC should not be in the business of choosing winners and losers in the competitive broadband marketplace. Except that's simply not true. It's the protectionist state laws that "choose winners and losers" by not only preventing towns and cities from deciding their own fate, but from in some instances banning them from even partnering with private companies. And while the Senate's municipal broadband opponents claim to simply be worried about equality and states rights, quote: Rubio’s presidential campaign has relied heavily on AT&T lobbyist Scott Weaver, the public policy co-chair of Wiley Rein, a law firm that also is helping to litigate against the FCC’s effort to help municipal broadband. As one of Rubio’s three lobbyist-bundlers, Weaver raised $33,324 for Rubio’s presidential campaign, according to disclosures.Rubio’s campaign fundraising apparatus is also managed in part by Cesar Conda, a lobbyist who previously served as Rubio’s chief of staff. Registration documents show that Conda now represents AT&T. So while a lot of lip service is paid to concern about states' rights and even broadband coverage, the real goal is to punish the FCC for its utterly uncharacteristic decision to stand up to lobbying giants like AT&T this year. Sadly the issue (like net neutrality) is framed as a partisan one despite there being nothing partisan about local citizens having a say in their own infrastructure future. Meanwhile, ISPs brought this upon themselves by refusing to deliver the kinds of faster, cheaper services many of these towns have spent a decade begging for. Except that's simply not true. It's the protectionist state laws that "choose winners and losers" by not only preventing towns and cities from deciding their own fate, but from in some instances banning them from even partnering with private companies. And while the Senate's municipal broadband opponents claim to simply be worried about equality and states rights, The Intercept this week make Rubio's motivation and ties to AT&T abundantly clear:So while a lot of lip service is paid to concern about states' rights and even broadband coverage, the real goal is to punish the FCC for its utterly uncharacteristic decision to stand up to lobbying giants like AT&T this year. Sadly the issue (like net neutrality) is framed as a partisan one despite there being nothing partisan about local citizens having a say in their. Meanwhile, ISPs brought this upon themselves by refusing to deliver the kinds of faster, cheaper services many of these towns have spent a decade begging for.







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