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Creative Redefinition of Today's Problems Into Tomorrow's Solutions
At around 7:00pm ET, Republicans in the North Carolina State Senate are expected to ram through H.129, Rep. Marilyn Avila’s (R-Time Warner Cable) anti-consumer, anti-community broadband bill.
You can listen to the Evening of Infamy right here: North Carolina Senate Audio.
With the cooperation of most of the state’s Republicans, and a handful of Democrats taking cable’s money, North Carolina intends to solve their state’s broadband availability problems in a novel way: by redefining those without broadband service as having broadband after all.
Through an amendment, H.129 will essentially declare the service as widely available if even a single resident in a particular census block has access to something resembling broadband. That could be 768kbps DSL from CenturyLink. If one person has the service, the thinking goes, everyone can get it, even if they can’t.
The Senate intends to deal with North Carolina’s broadband crisis by changing the definition of the word ‘crisis‘ into ‘accomplishment.’ Instead of allowing communities to provide service in unserved areas, simply declare all areas as being served, thereby negating the need for community broadband. Another victory for the free market, and it was dirt cheap not to provide the service, too!
So when broadband-deprived North Carolina consumers call Time Warner, CenturyLink, or AT&T, they can be told:
“No, it’s not that we don’t have any broadband service to sell you, we’re simply providing it in a unique new way — by delivering it to someone else! (Can’t you move in with them?)”
Problem solved.
As one legislator said earlier, “[TWC and CenturyLink] are calling all the shots.”
I love this state. At this rate we’ll really be the backwater state everyone else seems to think we are.
Agreed! I have e-mailed the speaker who also reps my district. He pretty much said sorry, it is what it is.! If the housing market ever rebounds Im moving to Salisbury just so I dont have to be a TWC customer. (plus the taxes are cheaper)
Guess we need to remind them again. Vote the bums out…
Gosh, isn’t that wonderful? It’s like saying, “sorry, Time Warner cut me a larger check than you are willing to give, so I guess you should just tough it out.”
VOTE THEM OUT.
If this gets rammed through, our only hope is Bev Purdue doesn’t sign it into law.
It’s disgusting how this made it this far.
Whatever happens, we’ll be back for our consumer revenge at election time. We have long memories of who votes with Time Warner and who votes with the people.
If they can write a bill banning community broadband, consumers can come together and demand a bill repealing it.
They already have their cushy job at Time Warner lined up. Its a never ending cycle.
“Another victory for the free market”
Collusion between government lords and business execs to quash competition (whether that’s a private-owned ISP or a local community service) is exactly the opposite of a free market.
When bashing a group correctly for redefining words, don’t commit the same fault yourself.
In a literal sense, you are right. But today’s “free market” as we know it is really the corporate-controlled version of it that uses government power to smooth their way to profits while blocking meaningful competition that could threaten their market power and concentration. My version of a perfect market would be free and open competition that has the checks and balances of active government oversight to keep companies on a level playing field. That means: — No to mergers that concentrate market power — Investigations into market collusion by cable and phone companies to avoid direct competition — The… Read more »