Slashdot Mirror
Comcast Sues Vermont Over Conditions On New License Requiring the Company To Expand Its Network (vtdigger.org)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from VTDigger: Cable television giant Comcast is suing the Vermont Public Utility Commission over the panel's decision to require the company to expand its network and step up support for community access TV if it wants to continue doing business in Vermont. A key issue is the services Comcast must provide to local community access systems that carry municipal government and school board meetings and other local events. The 26 community access systems have been pushing -- against resistance by Comcast -- for high-definition video, greater ability to operate from remote locations, and inclusion in the interactive program guides that Comcast customers can use to decide what to watch. The PUC -- formerly known as the Public Service Board -- in January issued a new 11-year permit for Comcast to operate in Vermont. In July the panel rejected the company's request to drop some of the conditions attached to the permit.
In a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Burlington, Comcast argued that the PUC "exceeded its authority under federal and Vermont law" by imposing "numerous conditions on Comcast's continued cable operations in the state that are arbitrary, unprecedented and will ultimately harm local cable subscribers by resulting in millions of dollars in increased cable costs." It said the commission "did so despite overwhelming record evidence that Vermont cable subscribers do not want to incur any additional costs or fees for the kinds of conditions imposed" in the commission's January order.
In a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Burlington, Comcast argued that the PUC "exceeded its authority under federal and Vermont law" by imposing "numerous conditions on Comcast's continued cable operations in the state that are arbitrary, unprecedented and will ultimately harm local cable subscribers by resulting in millions of dollars in increased cable costs." It said the commission "did so despite overwhelming record evidence that Vermont cable subscribers do not want to incur any additional costs or fees for the kinds of conditions imposed" in the commission's January order.
Maybe this would work under the previous anti-business administration, but with Trump now at the helm we have recognized as a country that it is counter-productive to pass job-killing legislation that subverts the free market and tries to pick winners and losers in the private sector. If you want to live under an all-powerful government that coddles you from cradle to grave, there is no shortage of communist countries around the world you can pick from, let me suggest North Korea or China or Cuba. Certainly we have no use for your kind here as of November 2016 and probably for another 6.5 years at least. We suffered through 8 years of socialist hell which brought us a Great Recession, a ruined healthcare system, and an entire generation of spoiled snowflakes that may never be successful in life other than participation trophies. If you think companies should not be allowed to make a profit, perhaps you should think long and hard about where your paycheck comes from.