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North Carolina governor refuses to block anti-muni broadband law

arstechnica.com

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Re: North Carolina governor refuses to block anti-muni broadband law

#11

Post by robterrell »

Spyro7 wrote: post #5
yock wrote: post #3

So, her answer is to boldly...do nothing? Does she view her inaction as heroic in some way?

There isn't really much that she could do here. The bill has already passed with the 2/3rds necessary to make her veto useless. She took the most politically savvy position possible. It wouldn't have made any sense to lose political capital on a battle that was already lost.

There's nothing savvy about her position. She's not going to be the broadband provider's favorite in 2012 against any generic republican (let alone Pat McRory). And I doubt the legislature gives her any concession at all for the convenience of avoiding another vote.

It's cowardice to let the bill pass while talking about how bad it is. Veto the damn thing. Sure, the legislature would override a veto, but let them. Let them own this bill instead of being complicit in it.

Personally, I'd frame this as an anti-internet-startup bill. Internet startups need the internet, much of the state doesn't have any, and the rest of the state has terrible monopolistic providers.

Re: North Carolina governor refuses to block anti-muni broadband law

#14

Post by dylanrw »

ataggart wrote: post #13

It's not clear to me what problem taxpayer-subsidized broadband is intended to solve.

In eastern North Carolina especially, there are often times only one ISP in an area. Also, since it is often times rural in nature, said ISPs may not get you service because there aren't enough subscribers on your street. So there is that problem. The other is this: pricing. In my city there is only 2 broadband ISPs, both have settled on pretty high prices for pretty slow speeds but since they have absolutely no incentive to add value for their customers, it has stayed that way for the past 4 years. Those two issues essentially lead down the road to where if you are a business and you want decent broadband, you must pay out the nose, and even then you may not be able to get it due to the company not wanting to run the lines.

If there was a municipal provider broadband could be more affordable, and more easily accessible. Ultimately helping to create an environment suitable to the education/tech industry.

Re: North Carolina governor refuses to block anti-muni broadband law

#16

Post by ryanhuff »

ataggart wrote: post #13

It's not clear to me what problem taxpayer-subsidized broadband is intended to solve.

Just as the municipality has a role in basic infrastructure for delivering water and electricity, it should also be a participant in the delivery of data to citizens. To ban a city from taking ownership of an increasingly important utility is troubling.

Re: North Carolina governor refuses to block anti-muni broadband law

#19

Post by mgkimsal »

ChrisLTD wrote: post #4
jonprins wrote: post #2

Welp, this kinda screws over a couple family members. I know someone living in Cary (not even 20 minutes drive from Research Triangle Park) that pays something like $60/mo for a measly 6mbps home connection. For another business they were working with, they used to get DSL through a local computer shop (Intrex). Intrex stopped their DSL service. AT&T refused to service that location at the speeds Intrex would. And th…

I'm sure Time Warner Cable and Verizon will start using their profits to start upgrading our local network infrastructure any day now...

Well, they did upgrade Youngsville, NC to wideband DOCSIS 3.0. I'm not terribly happy about supporting a monopoly, but I do have 30/5 service now.
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