Last spring, consumers across North Carolina banded together to oppose legislation custom-written by the telecommunications industry to keep municipal broadband networks from competing with cable and telephone companies.  Your efforts made a dramatic impact on state legislators and the bill was set aside.  One representative that helped push it has since resigned after being caught up in a campaign contribution scandal.  But we always knew the industry would be back.  The threat of competition, and a reduction in their fat profits, is too great to ignore.

HB1252 – The “Level Playing Field” bill, which is among the most ironically named pieces of state legislation around, will be in the North Carolina House Select Committee on High Speed Internet in Rural and Urban Areas on Monday morning at 10am.  For those of you who might want to attend, the meeting will be held in Room 415 of the Legislative Office Building at the General Assembly in Raleigh.

For those smart enough to recognize a telecom industry power play when they see one, a reality check for our state legislators is imperative.

I have been attempting to be added to the agenda to speak against HB1252 as a consumer.  So far, no call back.

I believe that I have a unique perspective on this issue, as I hail from Greensboro, one of the communities that experienced the attempt by Time Warner Cable to force classic Internet Overcharging schemes like metered billing and data caps on consumers in the Triad region.  These experiments came as a direct result of the large void many of us have in the area of competition.

HB1252 would make it next to impossible for municipalities to have their own city run broadband service to compete.  The city of Wilson made the dream a reality.  What costs a Time Warner Cable customer $180 to bundle cable, telephone, and Internet service together is on offer in Wilson from their municipal system for a mere $99.  That’s nearly half the price.

Wilson’s Greenlight system offers a direct fiber to the home connection to subscribers.  Wilson customers get speeds up to 100Mbps, ten times faster than cable or DSL.  What has Time Warner Cable done in Wilson to compete?  They reportedly cut their prices, particularly for consumers calling to cancel.

HB1252 will help protect Time Warner Cable and other providers in North Carolina from ever having to cut prices and take a profit hit.  By taking away your community’s right to provide service the cable and phone companies refuse to provide, at an affordable price, this piece of legislation assures you of paying more and having less choice.

If you cannot attend Monday’s session, you can still deliver a wakeup call to state legislators by reminding them you are paying close attention to this issue, and know exactly who is behind the push for HB1252.  Tell your representative Time Warner Cable and other telecommunications interests should not be ghost-writing legislation that favors them and protects their monopoly.  Ask your legislators to firmly oppose HB1252 and demand as much competition as the marketplace can stand, be it from phone, cable, wireless, or municipally run fiber to the home.

Here is the list of North Carolina representatives.  We won the first few rounds on behalf of North Carolina consumers.  Time to win one more!