N. Carolina shelves anti muni broadband bill

In a major victory for muni broadband, the finance committee of the North Carolina’s House of Representatives gave the language in anti muni HB 1587 an unfavorable report and rewrote it to instead authorize a review of broadband coverage and competition in the state.In a major victory for muni broadband, the finance committee of the North Carolina’s House of Representatives gave the language in HB 1587 an unfavorable report and rewrote it to instead authorize a review of broadband coverage and competition in the state.

The new language authorizes a “joint legislative utility review committee” to study four key issues in the debate and submit a final report to the 2009 General Assembly. According to FreePress, the four areas of study are:

the adequacy of coverage of communications services offered by current providers across the state, including rural and other high cost areas;

the adequacy of communications services currently offered by local governments;

The private and public costs and benefits of providing communications services through private providers compared to a local government owned communications service producer (effect on existing and future jobs, actual economic development prospects, tax-base growth, education and public health and,

the effect of local government owned and operated communications services on competition with privately owned communications services

HB 1587 bears the name Local Fair Gov’t Competition Act. That was the height of irony in the original bill which was drafted to protect big telco interests in the state that did little to extend service to rural communities and small towns–and set pricing high when they did. If the legislature acts in the spirt of the new language in the bill and truly studies the merits of open policies that allow munis to deploy competitive services, the bill may finally live up to its name.

But the fight is not necessarily over. The new bill allows the committee to make an interim report and recommendations for legislation.

A copy of the new bill is posted on Wilson, N.C.’s web site. Click here to read it.

Click here to read FreePress’s report.