House Republicans have unveiled their plan for "boosting" broadband connectivity and competition, and one of the key planks is prohibiting states and cities from building their own networks. The proposal to ban new public networks was included in the "Boosting Broadband Connectivity Agenda" announced Tuesday by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Bob Latta (R-Ohio), the top Republicans on the House Commerce Committee and Subcommittee for Communications and Technology, respectively.
Republicans call it the CONNECT Act, for "Communities Overregulating Networks Need Economic Competition Today." The bill "would promote competition by limiting government-run broadband networks throughout the country and encouraging private investment," the Commerce Committee Republicans said in their announcement, without explaining how limiting the number of broadband networks would increase competition. Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) is the lead sponsor.
The bill itself says that "a State or political subdivision thereof may not provide or offer for sale to the public, a telecommunications provider, or to a commercial provider of broadband Internet access service, retail or wholesale broadband Internet access service."
The bill has an exception that would allow existing government networks to continue in cities and towns without substantial broadband competition. States or municipalities that already offer Internet service may continue to do so if "there is no more than one other commercial provider of broadband Internet access that provides competition for that service in a particular area."
But existing networks would also be prevented from expanding into other areas. The bill says that states and municipalities already offering service "may not construct or extend facilities used to deliver broadband Internet access service beyond the geographic area in which the State or political subdivision thereof lawfully operates." The Republican bill also makes an exception for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which operates a fiber network but doesn't have carveouts for any other specific entities.
The bill is reminiscent of laws in nearly 20 states that restrict the building of municipal networks. But it has no realistic chance of passage in the Democratic-controlled House.
"I think they know it won't go anywhere and just want to make a statement against municipal networks without really caring how it will work," Christopher Mitchell, director of the Community Broadband Networks initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, told Ars. Mitchell's group has done research on how publicly owned networks encourage economic development by attracting businesses and jobs.
PCMag recently named Chattanooga, Tennessee, the best work-from-home city in the nation, citing in part the city's "widely available broadband Internet" provided by the Chattanooga Electric Power Board. Comcast initially tried to block that public network from being built but eventually upgraded its own service to better compete against the public option.
The Republicans' proposed ban on state and municipal networks is one of 28 bills in the Republican agenda. Most of the others remove regulatory requirements or speed up permitting processes for ISPs. Republicans said the 28 bills "aim to turbocharge public and private investment," even though the ban on state or municipal networks would reduce public investment.