April 2015, Vol. 70, No.4
Newsline
Broadband Stakeholders React To FCC Vote
On Feb. 26 the Federal Communications Commission granted petitions of Chattanooga, TN, and Wilson, NC, giving the municipally-owned broadband providers in those communities the freedom to provide high-speed internet service beyond their city limits.
The Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC) was happy about the decision to empower local leaders to make decisions about their communities’ critical infrastructure.
The CLIC released this statement: “Today’s FCC action in favor of local control is good for communities who have been going without meaningful access to 21st Century communications services. And it’s a milestone for community leaders, advocates and business owners who have worked together for years to get better broadband access for their communities. We look forward to continuing to work with policymakers at all levels to remove further barriers to broadband deployment.”
Jim Baller, Baller Herbst Stokes & Lide, PC, lead counsel for petitioners Wilson and Chattanooga also was pleased with the outcome.
“This is an important moment for communities in North Carolina, Tennessee and other states that have barriers to local investments in advanced communications networks. Not only has the Commission confirmed that it has authority to remove such barriers, but it has also made clear that local Internet choice is critically important to the vitality of our communities and to America’s global competitiveness.”
Heather Gold, president of the Fiber to the Home (FTTH) Council Americas, said, “the FTTH Council applauds the FCC for taking this step to further enable deployment of fiber to the home. Communities are hungry for bandwidth – for their economies, healthcare, education and quality of life. Citizens should be able to use all available assets to encourage all entities – ILECs, CLECs, utilities and municipalities – to deploy leading edge, future proof networks.”
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