Several high tech companies and trade associations have sent a joint letter to Georgia legislators to oppose HB 282, a bill designed to limit investment in Internet Networks. The letter has already been signed by Alcatel-Lucent, Google, Atlantic Engineering, Gigabit Squared, OnTrac, FTTH Council, American Public Power Association, NATOA, SEATOA, Utilities Telecom Council, and the Telecommunications … Read More
Morristown, Tennessee, is one of very few communities where anyone in town can immediately get a gigabit delivered to their home and business. General Manager and CEO Jody Wigington of the municipal electric utility, Morristown Utility Systems, joins me to discuss why they built their network and how it is has benefited the community. The network … Read More
This is a good resource for those still trying to wrap their heads around Internet policy. Vint Cerf of Decoding DC.
Last Friday, FCC Chairman Genachowski issued a statement discouraging states from creating (or maintaining) barriers to community owned networks. This statement came just days after Georgia began considering a bill to limit local authority in deciding whether a network were a wise decision. As we’ve recognized in law and policy for many years, public-private partnerships are … Read More
Have you heard of the National Information Infrastructure, or the NII? Most of us either haven’t, or have forgotten we once knew what it could be. Dewayne Hendricks joins us to remind us what it was and why we should care. It’s “kind of a big thing.” Since we conducted this interview, unlicensed spectrum issues became … Read More
Remember that Washington Post story about bigger, free Wi-Fi networks? It went hugely viral with all manner of outlets picking the story up, unintentionally distorting it, and amplifying it. Some good has come of it. For one thing, I was reminded that Ars Technica does a really good job of tech reporting, better than anyone else … Read More
In just a few days, we have seen many articles discussing how unwise and dangerous HB 282 is for the future of economic development in Georgia. This bill will revoke local authority to decide for themselves if any public investment in telecommunications is a wise choice. We already noted coverage from DSL Reports, Free Press, and … Read More
In the 30 hours since we learned of a bill in Georgia to revoke local authority to decide for themselves if a broadband network is a wise investment, we have seen a big response! Some of that is detailed below, but what matters for now is that HB 282 was bumped from today to next week. … Read More
The Georgia General Assembly is considering another bill to limit investment in telecommunications networks in the state, an odd proposition when just about everyone agrees states need as much investment in these networks as possible. House Bill 282, the “Municipal Broadband Investment Act,” purports to limit the ability of public entities to invest only in “unserved” … Read More
