We've been writing about Georgia's HB 282 for weeks, discussing the likely impact from limiting who can build Internet networks in communities that have the most basic Internet connections.
When the bill finally hit the House Floor, it failed in a bipartisan vote of 70 ayes to 94 nays. Many groups helped to educate the public and make sure many were informed about this legislation as it made its way through the Georgia House. Our full coverage of it is here.
Yesterday, CBS Atlanta ran another segment on this story, noting the overblown promises Windstream was making despite being unable to fulfill them (video below).
We will be running more stories on Georgia as we continue to cover the grassroots effort to protect local authority over this matter and continue to educate elected officials about community owned networks.
This is the second year in a row we saw Georgia consider a bill to limit local authority in this matter and we expect to see it again. We hope people in all 50 states are taking some time to tell their elected officials what they think about their access to the Internet and making sure that whenever a decision is made, it be made by the community without unnecessary barriers imposed by states or Washington, DC.
CBS Atlanta 46
Louisiana’s only publicly-owned broadband provider says it’s expanding access into nearby Church Point, bringing affordable fiber access to the town of nearly 4,200 residents. LUS Fiber was awarded a $21 million grant to expand fiber outside of Lafayette as part of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP).
A recent U.S. News And World Report survey of U.S. broadband subscribers shows that Americans are increasingly paying more money for broadband access. The survey also indicates broad public support for the recently defunded Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and other government-backed efforts to cap soaring broadband subscription costs.
The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas say they recently finished delivering fiber broadband capability to more than one million Arkansans as part of a $4.66 billion expansion. More than 40,000 miles of fiber have been installed by 17 cooperative broadband providers, including 15 local broadband providers, one wholesale broadband provider, and one middle-mile fiber company.
Today, we unveil our updated list of the 16 states in the U.S. with preemption laws still in place that either prevent or restrict local municipalities from building and operating publicly-owned, locally-controlled networks. These states maintain these laws, despite the fact that wherever municipal broadband networks or other forms of community-owned networks operate, the service they deliver residents and businesses almost always offers faster connection speeds, more reliable service, and lower prices.
Timnath, Colorado officials have broken ground on a new $20 million fiber network that should dramatically expand affordable fiber access to the town of 7,100 residents. Working in partnership with the city of Loveland’s Pulse Fiber, the project has been several years in the making, and – as with most of the successful municipal operations in Colorado – was fueled by ongoing public frustration with the speed, availability, and cost of monopoly-dominated regional broadband access.