We've been counting down what we believe to be the top ten problems that beset the United States broadband industry, one issue at a time.

Gripe Number Four: Stop the anti-muni broadband campaigns and deploy.

Ten states have banned community run broadband, and more than fourteen others are considering it - all solely at the behest of phone and cable company lobbyists. These efforts only gained widespread attention after Philadelphia bumped into Verizon in a quest to offer city-wide Wi-Fi.

Whether or not one agrees with the idea of a city getting into the broadband business, one thing is undeniable: Municipal broadband was created by the broadband industry. It is your lack of deployment, poor service, and spotty coverage that has pushed this nation's towns and cities toward exploring alternative connectivity options.

With the money you have spent on lobbying, disinformation campaigns, bell funded "research", and campaign contributions aimed at stopping such efforts, you could have wired the United States with broadband twice over and doled out some comfortable executive bonuses.

Good, bad, or ugly: Municipal decisions to run fiber or operate a Wi-Fi network should be left in the hands of citizens. If you want to stop them from considering the option, improve the quality and breadth of your own services.

And please, stop playing dumb.

Previously in this series:
#10 : Get out of the slow lane!
#9 : Stop hiding additional fees
#8 : Improved plans are not just for new customers
#7 : Treat technical support more seriously
#6 : Stop trying to kill the messengers
#5 : Fix it right the first time