As many as one in 10 Americans cannot get Internet connections fast
enough for common online activities such as watching video. Many
communities have responded to this digital divide by creating their own
municipal broadband networks as an alternative to the slow services
offered by cable and telephone companies in order to gain equal access
to education, health care and even jobs. One example of success is a
Thomasville, Georgia, which has been connecting people for more than a
decade. But these efforts could soon be blocked. Some 19 states have
passed laws to stop these communities from making such investments, and
Georgia could be next. We are joined by Chris Mitchell, director of the
Telecommunications as Commons Initiative, of the Institute for Local
Self-Reliance. He recently co-authored a report, "The Empire Lobbies
Back: How National Cable and DSL Companies
Banned The Competition in North Carolina." Catharine Rice is the
President of the SouthEast Association of Telecommunications Officers
and Advisors, which represents Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
and Tennessee. She led the effort to block an industry-sponsored on
municipal broadband investment in North Carolina, which passed last year
after Republicans came to power in the state, including a longtime
friend of the Koch brothers, Art Pope, who is now the governor’s budget
director.Video
Source: Democracy Now!
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