FTC Commissioner says muni broadband a good thing

Submitted by acohill on Sun, 10/02/2005 - 20:11

An FTC (Federal Trade Commission) commissioner spoke out against cable and telecom efforts to stifle community investment in broadband. Jon Leibowitz made a sensible analogy when he said that the current industry approach was like "Barnes and Noble and Borders saying libraries are killing their business and asking law makers to stop localities from building more libraries."

Leibowitz went on to say, "If cities do have these so-called advantages [such as freedom from taxation and various local regulations], and they want to pass them on to citizens, why shouldn't they be allowed to do so? That's exactly what a city does when it operates public schools, hires a police force, or builds libraries."

If an FTC commissioner can see and describe the situation so clearly, why can't our elected leaders and the FCC also see it? You may want to cut out the original article and mail to all your local leaders who can't make up their minds about broadband. Maybe it help them to see the light.