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New Maine Law Would Restrict Community Broadband Networks

A new bill being pushed by Maine Representative Nate Wadsworth would restrict Maine towns and cities looking to improve regional broadband competition. According to the Portland Press Herald, the bill would make it "virtually impossible" for towns and cities to build and operate their own broadband networks -- even in locations incumbent broadband providers refuse to serve.

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The bill would join around twenty other state protectionist laws -- most of which are directly written by ISP lobbyists -- intended to keep the uncompetitive broadband status quo in check.

A large number of these bills, this new Maine effort included, are crafted by an organization named ALEC -- which helps large ISPs ghost write legislation.

The bills are then pushed through state legislatures by lawmakers that consistently lament "burdensome regulations" -- apparently unless said regulations are written and crafted by giant broadband providers.

In most instances, the names of the bills are a total 180 from what they actually accomplish. Wadsworth's new Maine law, for example, is named "An Act To Encourage Broadband Development through Private Investment" -- when the act itself does, well, the opposite of encouraging broadband development.

Wadsworth is, not coincidentally, listed as a state chair for ALEC.

Locals obviously aren't keen on giant broadband providers like Frontier telling them what they can and cannot do. Especially in a state already ranked 49th in terms of broadband speed and availability.

"I can guarantee you if this bill moves forward, they will hear from an awful lot of very angry people," one Islesboro residents tells the paper. "Maine people are self-reliant, but island people are very self-reliant. When the boat stops at the end of the day, we take care of each other, and if somebody comes in from the outside and says we can’t take care of ourselves, that message won’t go over well."

Interested users can find a full text of the bill here.

Most recommended from 34 comments



ctaranto
join:2011-12-14
MA

14 recommendations

ctaranto

Member

As beautiful as Maine is...

Their government is a sh1tsh0w.
KraziJoe
join:2006-09-08
Limington, ME

9 recommendations

KraziJoe

Member

Grrrrr

Grrrrrr...Grrrrr
Grrrr. GRRRRR!!!!

Anon37e3c
@2602:100.x

6 recommendations

Anon37e3c

Anon

Don't get this

In areas where there is no other provider and will never bee those areas will fall behind which means that state falls behind. Why would la state want to fall behind? make ZERO sense. What state doesn't want to be the best state? Where is the sense of pride in Republicans? No desire to strive to be the best? Who is happy being mediocre?

WHT
join:2010-03-26
Rosston, TX

4 recommendations

WHT

Member

New Meaning..

"Remember the Maine" takes on a new meaning.
DeLiver3
Premium Member
join:2004-09-01
Cincinnatus, NY
Actiontec F2250
(Software) pfSense

4 recommendations

DeLiver3

Premium Member

Frontier?

"Locals obviously aren't keen on giant broadband providers like Frontier telling them what they can and cannot do. Especially in a state already ranked 49th in terms of broadband speed and availability. "

I thought Maine was primarily Fairpoint territory.

Dominokat
"Hi"
Premium Member
join:2002-08-06
Boothbay, ME

3 recommendations

Dominokat

Premium Member

The bill died

The Maine legislatures gave a big thumbs down.

»www.pressherald.com/2017 ··· nternet/
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

3 recommendations

Kearnstd

Premium Member

These laws would not be bad if....

The ban could only be applied in areas with no less than three 1000/1000mbit providers serving all addresses.

Naturally these laws should not exist at all but if one had to compromise add deployment requirements and have zero loopholes. Any community without three symmetrical gigabit providers capable of providing to all addresses would be exempt from the ban.

buzz_4_20
join:2003-09-20
Dover, NH

2 recommendations

buzz_4_20

Member

Competition....

Now that's funny.
I can get, Spectrum, that's it, don't even have cell service in my town.