The FCC Can't Help Cities Trapped By Predatory Internet Deals With Big Telecom 93
Jason Koebler writes: At least 20 states have laws that make it illegal for communities to offer local government-owned high speed internet access. Wednesday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler threw consumers a bone by suggesting that the agency could make it easier for cities to skirt those laws. That's a great first step — but many cities have locked themselves into telecom company-caused messes the FCC probably can't fix. The FCC's power becomes much less certain once you drill into the other major reason—besides state laws—why cities can't offer broadband to their constituents: local, long-term agreements with internet service providers.
Re:A Question from a Stupid Foreigner. (Score:5, Informative)
a town or city signs a deal with a company to provide services to citizens with all kinds of conditions to protect both sides
what is the FCC supposed to do about it? any town or city can pull out of the contract, they just have to pay up, lose revenue or whatever the contract says the terms are
now this comcast/verizon vs netflix issue, that's a different story
Re:politicians put the public over that barrel. Te (Score:4, Informative)
The Tea Party people want whatever the Koch brothers tell them to want. If the Koch brothers have a stake in telecom, I bet most teabaggers support these contracts.
Re:Local government mismanagement (Score:4, Informative)
Nah, I think the local government should review the contract to confirm that the provider is meeting their obligations. If they are not, then a simple contract cancellation due to non-performance of the provider should be all it takes to clean up the mess.
LOL, you must be new to this country. [consumerist.com]