Aug
27

Newsflash: Cable/Telcos Write Telecom Law – But it’s a rare politician that’s proud of that fact…

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Three times now, AT&T and Time Warner Cable have tried and failed to pass laws aimed at stopping towns in North Carolina from building fiber networks. Such networks offer symmetrical fiber at higher speeds and lower prices than either company’s willing to offer. The politicians that pass these carrier-written laws (without even understanding them) pretend the bills were their idea, though Ars Technica notes NC Senator David Hoyle seems rather proud of his well-heeled compliance:In the last legislative session Sen. Hoyle tried to put a moratorium on any more local governments expanding into municipal broadband. When the I-Team asked him if the cable industry drew up the bill, Senator Hoyle responded, “Yes, along with my help.” When asked about criticism that he was “carrying water” for the cable companies, Hoyle replied, “I’ve carried more water than Gunga Din for the business community — the people who pay the taxes.”Hoyle apparently couldn’t get his Time Warner Cable’s law passed directly, so he then tried to bury it within another bill designed to help fund broadband expansion in the State. Using figures from Connected Nation (which is a lobbying and policy extension of major carriers), Hoyle recently proclaimed that broadband availability issues in the state were “bullshit.” Luckily for locals in Wilson, North Carolina, Hoyle failed to “protect” consumers from symmetrical fiber speeds of up to 100 Mbps.

Related posts:

  1. North Carolina Still Trying To Ban Community Fiber – Time Warner Cable wants to protect you from yourself
  2. North Carolina Anti-Community Fiber Push Killed – Back to the drawing board for AT&T, Time Warner Cable lobbyists
  3. NC Effort To Ban Community Fiber Fails, Lawmaker Tries Again – New bill would just strangle community fiber efforts in red tape
  4. Cable Beat Telcos In 2010 Broadband Subscriber Adds – Cable Nabbed 68% Of New Additions, Or 2.3 Million Users
  5. Legislators block bill to ban North Carolina municipal broadband efforts

Original story here.

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