Image
Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
AT&T Bid for Broadband Monopoly in South Carolina Resurfaces
By
on
AT&T, one of the few dominant Internet access providers in South Carolina, is again pushing a bill in the state legislature that will gut the self-determiniation of local communities in the digital age. The market power of AT&T and Time Warner Cable has already driven most private sector competition from the market -- now they want to use their lobbying clout to ensure that the communities themselves cannot build the networks they need to attract economic development and maintain a high quality of life.
Last year, we were deeply concerned about House Bill 3508 but it was orphaned in committee after AT&T lost its credibilty by encouraging the state adopt a broadband definition lower than even the much-maligned 200kbps previously used by the FCC.
The bill is back this year and would have been taken up by the Senate Judiciary Committee today but that meeting now appears to be cancelled. Nonetheless, AT&T will undoubtedly find a way to bring it back this year and we shouldn't count on AT&T's stupidity to save us again from its massive lobbying clout.
Phil Dampier has issued a call to action at Stop the Cap!, calling AT&T's bill the Profit Protection Act. He has a list of the Senate Judiciary Committee members so people in South Carolina can contact them.
It is crucial that Senators and Representatives hear from constituents on these matters. Issues of telecommunications policy rarely generate phone calls, so even a few calls can make a different and will serve notice to elected officials that they are being monitored on this issue.
There is no need for additional barriers in South Carolina for rural communities to build the networks they need. As we show on our community broadband preemption map, South Carolina has already enacted additional regulatory barriers that public sector entities must surpass in order to build this essential infrastructure in their community.
South Carolina's communities have very poor access to the Internet compared to regional and international peers. AT&T is not expanding its super-DSL product called U-Verse and no major private companies are building fiber-optic networks. Making it harder for communities to build the necessary infrastructure simply means that South Carolina will be unable to attract the jobs or workforce of the future.
If you have questions or want to assist in the effort to preserve local decisionmaking authority in South Carolina or anywhere else, let us know.
Geoterm
Related Stories
Oakland Secures $15 Million Grant To Bring Broadband Into Underserved Neighborhoods
Oakland, California will use ARPA grant funds to construct a city-owned, open-access, hybrid middle mile/last mile fiber network that will support the city housing authority's “Free Internet Initiative.” The Oakland project not only paves the way for the city to connect 14 community anchor institutions (CAIs) and nine public safety buildings, it will also expand high-speed Internet access to thousands of unserved and underserved addresses in West and East Oakland.
Fort Collins Municipal Network Celebrates 20,000 Subscriber Milestone
Fort Collins, Colorado's award-winning municipal fiber network is celebrating its growth by giving away a year of free Internet access to 20 randomly chosen subscribers. Buoyed by its successes, Fort Collins has since started striking intergovernmental agreements with unserved neighboring communities in Larimer County in a bid to further extend affordable access to locals long-neglected by regional monopolies.
Brownsville, Texas is Lit and Ready To Launch Into The Future
As Brownsville, Texas continues to make progress on an ambitious revitalization initiative, it is now transforming the digital landscape along the border with a citywide fiber network to bring fast, reliable, and affordable Internet service to its nearly 200,000 residents. The effort is being launched on the back of a city-owned middle mile fiber backbone and a partnership with Lit Fiber to build out last mile service, operating as Lit Fiber BTX.
California Awards $86 million in Federal Funding Account Grants, Community Broadband Projects Big Winners
Imperial, Lassen, and Plumas Counties are among the first recipients of California’s $2 billion Last Mile Federal Funding Account Grant Program (FFA). The cities of Oakland, Fremont, and San Francisco have also been awarded significant state awards. All told, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) awarded 11 FFA grants totaling over $86.6 million.
Ting Brings Competition, Fiber Service and Microtrenching to Centennial, Colorado
The City of Centennial, Colorado is making steady inroads bringing affordable fiber Internet service to the city of 106,000, leveraging its city-owned fiber backbone and a partnership with the Charlottesville, VA.-based fiber provider Ting. Voter-approved efforts to get out from under the thumb of regional monopolies have driven a surge of competition in the city, most recently exemplified by Ting’s continued delivery of affordable gigabit fiber.
Federal Municipal Network Support Declining, Warns Experts
Experts express concern that federal support for municipal broadband is limited, prompting uncertainty about future funding and operational sustainability. At a Fiber for Breakfast event Wednesday, Tyler Cooper, editor-in-chief of Broadband Now, said that Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants are less promising for municipal broadband deployments despite initial promises.