[CWN-Summit] Federal Legislation to Ban Community Broadband

[Harold Feld]

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), an SBC alum who also recieves SBC campaign 
contributions by the boatload, has introduced HR 2726.  This bill would 
prevent a municipality from offering any kind of telecom, internet or cable 
service if any non-governmental org offers a "reasonably comparable" 
service (interestingly enough, the presence of a volunteer free net, under 
a strict reading of the bill, would prohibit a local government from 
providing any services).

I believe it is imperative that members of Congress understand this is a 
HANDS OFF issue. We should not wait for this bill to accumulate co-sponsors 
and gain support from other members (Upton, (R-IL), chair of the Telecom 
subcommittee, has in the past expressed opposition to community 
broadband).  We should not allow the telcos and cable companies to "shop 
this" and work to get it included in other bills.  In particular, I hope 
that those who have won victories against the odds in the states will make 
it clear that the federal government will not take these hard won rights 
away from them.

Last year, the National Association of Broadcasters attempted to get a bill 
passed that would have prohibitted satellite radio companies from offering 
local traffic and weather.  XM mobilized its customers and got more than 
26,000 people to tell Congress and the FCC to back off.  This "shock and 
awe" effect has made last year's NAB bill a "hands off" issue this year.

I sincerely hope that we can do better than XM Radio, given what is riding 
on the line here and given the amazing successes we have had until now.  I 
have attached a letter similar to the one we generated last February, but 
designed for individual sign on and explicitly addressing HR 2726.  This 
letter is only a suggestion, and I would urge individuals and organizations 
to tailor it to your specific circumstances.  Even a few sentences that 
place this letter in the context of your local community have enormous 
impact with members of Congress.  I would urge folks to contact members in 
their home offices and make it clear that local governments are in the best 
position to decide what local residents need and how best to spend local 
tax dollars.

Most importantly, remind your elected official that he or she works for 
you, not some corporate monopoly trying to regulate away competition.  The 
only ones who benefit from HR 2726 are the telcos and the cable cos.  But 
we will all suffer if the bill passes.

A wealth of information and studies making the case for community internet 
is available from Free Press at:
http://www.freepress.net/communityinternet/

Harold Feld
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: HR 2726 letter 6-2.rtf
Type: application/rtf
Size: 18420 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/archive/cwn-summit/attachments/20050602/113b91b9/HR2726letter6-2.rtf