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Municipal Wi-Fi Battle Moves to Texas
Cryofan writes "The fight in Texas is heating up over municipal wireless. Texas House Bill 789, under consideration in Texas, would impose one of the most extreme bans on municipal involvement in any form of communications--free or otherwise (the bill could ban free library access)."
Our link has been mentioned once in this thread, but I want to highlight it. If you want to learn more about the battle to stop the anti-muni network provisions of HR 789, or (please! please!) if you are a Texan interested in helping to get this stopped, please visit our web site.
The anti-muni provisions of Texas HR 789 will be highly harmful to Texans. It certainly will harm communities. How it harms any given community, however, will vary. Texas is a very big place.
In metro areas, such as Austin, wireless access is proving to be a mighty tool for economic development and for bridging the digital divide. These absolutely are causes of civic concern, and municipalities should be involved.
Here in Austin, for instance, the private Austin Wireless City project has been a leader in the drive to provide wireless access. The city has been involved, but it's mostly been logistical and organizational support, not funding. This sort of public/private partnership is good for people and good for business, but could be prohibited by HR 789.
In rural areas, the story is much grimmer. I hear that government shouldn't compete with private enterprise, but what if private enterprise isn't even showing up to compete? The broadband fiber isn't landing in the small towns, because SBC can't justify the buildout investment.
In the last century there was a big push for rural electrification. Internet access is the 21st counterpart. If these small towns don't get broadband access, they are going to find their economic options significantly limited and their quality of life impacted. These towns need the right to assure local infrastructure.
This issue is not about free lunches or something for nothing. It's about making sure citizens and markets determine what's right for our communities, and not the special interests of the incumbent communication providers.
If you live in Texas, please visit the Save Muni Wireless web site to learn more about the issue and what you can do.