Three times now, AT&T and Time Warner Cable have tried and failed to pass laws aimed at stopping towns in North Carolina from building fiber networks. Such networks offer symmetrical fiber at higher speeds and lower prices than either company's willing to offer. The politicians that pass these carrier-written laws (without even understanding them) pretend the bills were their idea, though Ars Technica notes NC Senator David Hoyle seems rather proud of his well-heeled compliance:

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In the last legislative session Sen. Hoyle tried to put a moratorium on any more local governments expanding into municipal broadband. When the I-Team asked him if the cable industry drew up the bill, Senator Hoyle responded, "Yes, along with my help." When asked about criticism that he was "carrying water" for the cable companies, Hoyle replied, "I've carried more water than Gunga Din for the business community -- the people who pay the taxes."

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Hoyle apparently couldn't get his Time Warner Cable's law passed directly, so he then tried to bury it within another bill designed to help fund broadband expansion in the State. Using figures from Connected Nation (which is a lobbying and policy extension of major carriers designed specifically to downplay coverage and competitive issues), Hoyle recently proclaimed that broadband availability issues in the state were "bullshit." Luckily for locals in Wilson, North Carolina, Hoyle failed to "protect" consumers from symmetrical fiber speeds of up to 100 Mbps.