Telecom companies don’t want to compete with local governments to provide Internet to residents, but a recent rule by the federal government allows them to do just that. Pushback has come from an unlikely source: state attorneys general.
"Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission voted to ease the way for cities to become Internet service providers," according to an article by Leticia Miranda. That decision came despite lobbying by the cable and telecom industry, which continue to resist the law. In fact, the industry has found support in resisting municipal broadband from an unlikely source: state governments.
According to Miranda, "attorneys general in North Carolina and Tennessee have recently filed lawsuits in an attempt to overrule the FCC and block towns in these states from expanding publicly funded Internet service." The lawsuits by North Carolina and Tennessee are just the latest examples of states allying with cable and telecommunications companies. "Roughly 20 states have restrictions against municipal broadband," reports Miranda.
Miranda provides details about the current lawsuits, but also notes the growing trend of lobbyists and contributors targeting state attorneys general, as reported in a New York Times article by Eric Lipton from October 2014.
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