Tennessee lawmakers have defeated a proposal to expand municipal broadband, with one state representative accusing fellow elected officials of caving to pressure from lobbyists. “It’s a testament to the power of lobbying against this bill and not listening to our electorate,” Rep. Kevin Brooks (R-Cleveland) told reporters after the vote, according to a Times Free Press article yesterday.
“AT&T IS THE VILLAIN” IN CITY BROADBAND FIGHT, REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER SAYS
In Tennessee, AT&T fights against effort to expand municipal Internet.
Brooks didn’t name lobbyists for any specific companies but said, “I heard they hired 27 lawyers to fight.”
Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) last month blamed AT&T for leading efforts to kill the bill. “We’re talking about AT&T,” Gardenhire said at the time. “They’re the most powerful lobbying organization in this state by far.”
AT&T publicly opposed the bill, saying that “taxpayer money should not be used to over-build or compete with the private sector.” Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) has said she prefers “that the private sector take this over.”
Comcast has also previously tried to prevent expansion of municipal broadband in Tennessee, having sued the Electric Power Board (EPB) of Chattanooga in 2008 to prevent it from building a fiber network. Comcast lost the suit, and EPB built its network.
EPB has been at the center of the most recent efforts to expand municipal broadband in the state. The utility petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to preempt a state law that prevents it from expanding outside its electric service area to adjacent towns that have poor Internet service, and the FCC agreed to do so despite opposition from state officials and AT&T. Tennessee sued the FCC to preserve its law that limits city-run broadband networks, and oral arguments in the case are scheduled to be heard tomorrow. (continue reading)