Honestly, the Party of Stupid seems unable to get past their dumbass slogans,
and undermine their own cause in so doing. This should not be a partisan issue.
Municipal broadband can only gain in popularity, if people see a corrupt FCC
working against the people's best interests. If Republicans insist on stacking
the deck against what people want, only because they can't do better than
parrot each other's simplistic slogans, they'll lose big time.
As far as I have been able to see, Trump himself is at best confused on this
matter of net neutrality. He has only spoken about it as if it were part of the
"fairness doctrine," equating it with allowing more "fake news." But it's
totally unrelated. On the contrary, non-neutrality would be far more likely to
promote "fake news."
Republicans need to wake up. They can't let people see the Democrats as their
only hope.
Bert
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http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/washington/bill-would-prevent-state-efforts-limit-muni-broadband/171206
Washington
Jan 18, 2018 01:16 PM ET
Bill Would Prevent State Efforts to Limit Muni Broadband
Dems say it will preserve broadband 'self determination'
By John Eggerton
In the latest volley in what has been a blitz of broadband bills, some House
Democrats are trying to block states from passing laws limiting municipal
broadband buildouts.
But Reps. Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA), Mike Doyle (D-PA), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Ro
Khanna (D-CA), Beto O'Rourke (D-TX), Mark Pocan (D-WI), and Jared Polis (D-CO)
have teamed up on the Community Broadband Act, which would prohibit states from
"writing laws that inhibit local governments from building their own
broadband." They says that would simply be preserving the right to broadband
self-determination.
The bill is the second in a series of broadband bills Eshoo signaled this week
were in the pipeline. She is former ranking member of the Communications
Subcommittee and remains active on communications issues. Doyle is the current
ranking member.
"All too often, communities around the country struggle to get service from
private providers, and where people can get service all too often it's too slow
and costs too much," said Doyle. "Communities that build out their own
broadband networks offer competitive options that not only bring service to the
unserved, but also promote competition in underserved areas."
ISPs have long argued that such buildouts targeting the "underserved" often
result in overbuilding commercial providers with government subsidies and leave
taxpayers holding the bag if those buildouts can't make it as going concerns.
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