Incumbent phone and cable companies have spent years successfully lobbying state lawmakers to pass laws banning towns and cities from wiring themselves -- even in cases where incumbents wouldn't. The laws, usually written by incumbent lawyers, were passed in more than a dozen states without much public debate -- though momentum slowed in recent years due to media attention and consumer advocacy opposition.

But last year they started popping up again in North Carolina, due to a number of fiber to the home municipal developments that have been taking off in the state. Wilson, North Carolina launched a $28 million municipal broadband operation named Greenlight last year, offering symmetrical speeds up to 100Mbps. Other cities like Salisbury began exploring the option too.

That of course riled up local incumbents Time Warner Cable and AT&T, given fiber to the home would provide faster service than either carrier is willing to provide in the region. Fortunately for locals, Time Warner Cable's bungled attempt to force high broadband overages on customers last year directed extra attention Time Warner Cable's way -- and several efforts to derail fiber projects in Salisbury and Wilson were met by some angry and informed grass roots consumer opposition.

While details remain murky, Salisbury today announced they're moving forward with their fiber to the home build, and have selected Ericsson hardware for their IPTV offerings, and Zhone for next-gen PON hardware. "Salisbury officials conducted an exhaustive feasibility study, including case studies, user satisfaction surveys and a thorough business case analysis before commencement of the project," insists Ericsson's press release.

For locals, hopefully that "exhaustive feasibility study" involved a decent business plan. It's usually very difficult to set up and operate a financially successful smaller town fiber network, but it's made infinitely more difficult by the legislative and legal assaults such projects face from regional incumbent operators. Wilson, North Carolina runs an interesting blog that highlights how Wilson is engaged in constant battle with incumbents like Time Warner Cable. They also frequently highlight how Wilson amazingly doesn't see the same cable rate hikes (pdf) seen elsewhere in North Carolina.