If the lack of broadband competition in your state is keeping your community down, President Obama has your back. On Tuesday, he called on the Federal Communications Commission to crack down on state laws that prevent cities and towns from building their own networks, and thus providing citizens potentially faster and less expensive alternatives to AT&T, Verizon and Comcast.
“Laws in 19 states—some specifically written by special interests trying to stifle new competitors—have held back broadband access and, with it, economic opportunity,” reads a White House statement announcing a new report on community-based broadband solutions. “President Obama is announcing a new effort to support local choice in broadband, formally opposing measures that limit the range of options available to communities to spur expanded local broadband infrastructure, including ownership of networks.”
Obama will outline his plan Wednesday in Cedar Falls, Iowa, one of the cities that built its own broadband network offering Internet speeds nearly 100 times faster than the national average. This is the second time since November that the president has called on the FCC to make major changes in rules regarding the Internet. Last year, he strongly advised in favor of net neutrality by reclassifying broadband as a common carrier service.
