Let America’s Cities Provide Broadband to Their Citizens
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Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) -- In cities and towns across theU.S., a familiar story is replaying itself: Powerfulcompanies are preventing local governments from providingan essential service to their citizens. More than 100 yearsago, it was electricity. Today, it is the public provisionof communications services.
The Georgia legislature is currently considering abill that would effectively make it impossible for any cityin the state to provide for high-speed Internet accessnetworks -- even in areas in which the private sectorcannot or will not. Nebraska, North Carolina, Louisiana,Arkansas and Tennessee already have similar laws in place.South Carolina is considering one, as is Florida.