Ben's Blog World: Big cable-backed broadband bill soars through NC House, one step closer to stifling ISP competition

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Big cable-backed broadband bill soars through NC House, one step closer to stifling ISP competition

We've said it before, and we'll say it again: Time Warner Cable is made up of some insanely shady folks. And frankly, it's not just TWC to blame here -- CenturyLink, Embarq and a smattering of other big telecom companies are banding together in order to push the ironically-named H129 "Level Playing Field" bill straight into law. Unfortunately, said bill sailed through the clearly oblivious (or "persuaded") North Carolina House this week, with just 37 sane individuals voting against 81 delusional proponents. For those outside of the loop, the bill effectively suggests that commercial entities -- municipal ISPs like Wilson's own Greenlight that provide greater levels of service with lower costs -- are unfairly competing against for-profit monoliths. In short, that's an absolute joke. Rep. Bill Faison nailed it with this quote:

"This bill will make it practically impossible for cities to provide a fundamental service. Where's the bill to govern Time Warner? Let's be clear about whose bill this is. This is Time Warner's bill. You need to know who you're doing this for."

Yours truly just so happens to reside in the wonderful state of North Carolina, and knows first-hand what it's like to live in a major metropolitan area with a single high-speed broadband carrier. TWC has only recently announced impending DOCSIS 3.0 coverage, but early installations in the heart of Raleigh have been fraught with latency issues and router difficulties. Oh, and it's charging $99 per month for a service with 5Mbps up; for comparison's sake, Greenlight gives customers 10Mbps internet (in both directions), home phone and expanded basic cable for the exact same fare. So, NC lawmakers -- how exactly do your constituents gain access to that "level playing field?"

[Image courtesy of IndyWeek]

Big cable-backed broadband bill soars through NC House, one step closer to stifling ISP competition originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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