Cities Seek FCC Help to Expand Broadband

[Commentary] Chattanooga (TN) and Wilson (NC) simultaneously petitioned the FCC to pre-empt laws in their states that ban the cities from expanding their high-speed Internet networks. The petitions are a move to lift all statewide bans on municipal broadband networks. More than 130 cities operate their own Internet networks, according to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance while some 21 states restrict such networks.

The state laws restricting municipal broadband have been backed, and sometimes written, by telecommunications companies led by AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Verizon Communications and Comcast. They argue it is unfair for them to compete with government, which doesn’t have to make a profit or pay taxes.