ISPs Buy a Wyoming Bill That Blocks Community Broadband ISPs continue to buy state laws preventing towns and cities from making their own, local broadband infrastructure decisions. An effort in Wyoming to pass legislation that would award state grants to help rural Wyoming communities get high-speed internet instead got hijacked by CenturyLink and Charter Spectrum lobbyists, resulting in a bill getting passed this week that simply blocked towns and cities from being able to deploy their own broadband networks.

anywhere inside the community. The replacement legislation (pdf) successfully pushed by ISP lobbyists blocks funding for communities to establish their own public broadband networks -- if those companies already offer service The replacement bill gives ISPs effective veto power over which programs get funded by the state, letting them hamstring potential competitors, whatever form those competitors might take. Such tactics aren't new: more than twenty-one different states have passed protectionist, ISP-written laws intended to retain the status quo: a notable lack of overall competition. Community broadband networks are often conceived by communities that have spent the better part of a decade frustrated by high prices, slow speeds, and substandard customer support. Instead of derailing these efforts by improving service quality, coverage and support, ISPs often find it simply easier to quite literally write and buy state telecom law. Cheyenne Mayor Marion Orr was understandably disgusted by how easy it was for CenturyLink and Charter to buy a state law. "I shouldn’t have been surprised to learn industry completely re-wrote proposed broadband legislation to their favor as a ‘substitute bill’ in legislative committee today," Orr wrote on Facebook. "The substitute bill is substantially different than the original bill. And it wasn’t posted online or anywhere for anyone except insiders to have access to. CenturyLink and Spectrum are bullies. It’s wrong, and they are hurting Cheyenne and other Wyoming communities from gaining affordable access." Whether you agree or disagree with towns and cities building their own broadband networks, the choice to do so should be theirs and theirs alone; not governed by executives half a world away whose only real goal is to keep the broadband industry as uncompetitive as possible to boost revenues. Whether you agree or disagree with towns and cities building their own broadband networks, the choice to do so should be theirs and theirs alone; not governed by executives half a world away whose only real goal is to keep the broadband industry as uncompetitive as possible to boost revenues.







News Jump Comcast Shuts Off Internet for Subs Who Were Sold Service Illegally; AT&T, Verizon Team To Stop T-Mobile 5G; + more news California Defends Its Net Neutrality Law; AT&T's Traffic Up 20% Despite Data Traffic Actually Being Down; + more news Are The Comcast-Charter X1 Talks Dead In The Water?; AT&T May Offer Phone Plans With Ads For Discounts; + more news Europe's Top Court: Net Neutrality Rules Bar Zero Rating; ViacomCBS To Rebrand CBS All Access As Paramount+; + more news Verizon To Buy Reseller TracFone For $7B; 5G Not The Competitive Threat To Cable Many Thought It Would Be; + more news MS.Wants Records From AT&T On $300M Project; Google Fiber Outages In Austin, Houston, Other Texan Cities; + more news States With The Biggest Decreases In Speed; AT&T Hopes You'll Forget Its Fight Against Accurate Maps; + more news AT&T's CEO Has A Familiar $olution To US Broadband Woes; EarthLink Files Suit Against Charter; + more news 5G Doesn't Live Up To Hype, AT&T's 5G Slower Than Its 4G; Cord-Cutting Now In 37% of Broadband Households; + more news FCC Cited False Broadband Data Despite Warnings; ZTE, Huawei Replacement Cost Is $1.87B, But Only $1B Allocated; + more ---------------------- this week last week most discussed

Most recommended from 18 comments

Nucleartx

join:2016-09-08

Belton, TX 18 recommendations Nucleartx Member Don't vote out Charges should be filed against the lawmakers who blatantly allow the industries to write the bills. The people have to send a message. cumulonimbus

join:2017-11-29

USA 8 recommendations cumulonimbus Member But the Preamble to the United States Constitution clearly states... We the Corporations of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Dominance, insure domestic Control, provide for the CEO, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to our Board of Directors and our Profitability, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Roadkill

Premium Member

join:2008-06-17

united state 4 recommendations Roadkill Premium Member Power I think this speaks to politics and the power of money. Moral character means very little to people maneuvering to gain money. Money is manipulating some folks to blatantly screw entire states. These folks do so because they know the money train will keep them in political power even when public opinion rails against them. This occurs in politics from national to city level now days. Just how far has America removed itself from the monarchy we reportedly overthrew a few centuries ago?

cb14

join:2013-02-04

Miami Beach, FL 3 recommendations cb14 Member Anyone surprised? Which party controls Wyoming? Which party caters to big corporate?

Doesn't matter, some people just don't learn. kinda pissed

join:2012-06-06

Newsoms, VA 3 recommendations kinda pissed Member Confusing It's cool that these big ISPs or any private ISP for that matter doesn't want to wire slow to profit areas . I just don't understand why they spend millions stopping these areas from wiring themselves. I put most of the blame on our elected prostitutes though.