South Carolina Erects New Barrier to Community Broadband

You, the website's resident "screw the little guy" advocate, approves of bills written by phone company lawyers that erode the rights of local communities, keep regional infrastructure in the dark ages, and layer communities with unnecessary restrictions ensuring they fail should they try to improve conditions? Shocking.

You'd think some Conservatives would want local rights protected, instead of being dictated by a large company with no real interest in the community.

Dozens of these bills ban community broadband outright

If you think corporations have the citizen's best interest in mind

The investors you are talking about do create jobs in China in India in the Philippines in Mexico in Taiwan.

You sir need to stop touting the party line and start thinking for yourself.

Which is an intentional hurdle for municipalities that makes them have to increase their price while gaining no additional revenue.

I'm failing to understand what is so awful about ensuring municipalities cover their expenses in an equitable manner.

Because they never do, they subsidize the deployment of large expensive over many years or decades. Dams, power plants, sewer systems, water systems are never paid for up front but instead pay for themselves over a very long time.

....But what I haven't seen is how exactly they are supposed to be doing that. ...

The other issue, which is not explicitly spelled out in this bill, but would apply, is that during the petition process to designate an unserviced area, any telco/provider that does provide service to the area can block petition against deployment..

Another popular provision is against cross-subsidization. That is a public utility(like electric or water) can't use income from those regulated utilities to keep broadband utility in the black to cover loses incurred in providing broadband. Another good idea in my opinion.

the commercial entities have been using the hundreds of millions of dollars that the USF generates as a corporate slush fund to line their own pockets and add to their profit.

How is that any different from a Gov entity using profits from an alternate utility from an ethical standpoint.

Private companies also use other divisions within their corporate umbrella to prop up poor performing products and services, maybe we should ban private entities from doing that as well?