Time Warner Cable, AT&T and CenturyLink/Embarq's latest attempt (they've been trying since 2005) to pass a bill in North Carolina that would hinder communities interested in wiring themselves with fiber -- seems to be seeing some opposition in the state. The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday postponed considering the new law, which opponents say is little more than protectionism -- intentionally layering projects like Wilson's Greenlight fiber service (funded with private money) with bureaucratic obstacles. In an editorial last week, the Winston-Salem Journal put it this way:Of course dozens of these kinds of bills were passed over the last decade before many people realized what carriers were doing -- namely refusing to serve areas (either with next-generation broadband or broadband of any kind) -- then pushing for laws that would ban them from serving themselves.