Lessig, Doc Searls, and Others Call on Gov Perdue to Veto TWC Bill

As readers know, we have devoted a lot of effort to educating everyone about Time Warner Cable's Bill in North Carolina to kill local authority to build broadband networks. As time runs out for NC Governor Perdue to kill this terrible legislation with her veto pen, we have seen many more calls on the Governor to act on behalf of local businesses and residents rather than on behalf of TWC and CenturyLink. We've written more on this legislation than almost any other topic (all of it available here), so we want to highlight other recent posts. Some notable recent calls to action come from Larry Lessig's Rootstrikers:
North Carolina has one of the nation's most impressive community broadband movements. Locally owned, state of the art networks are delivering fast, cheap Internet across the state. Big telecom companies--Time Warner Cable in particular--are not happy with their success. They've spent millions on lobbying state lawmakers. Now, the North Carolina legislature has passed a bill that bans competition from community broadband networks. Under this legislation, local communities would be held hostage to the corporate broadband networks that have given America second-rate networks everywhere.
Josh Levy of Free Press wrote the following in Ars Technica:
Predictably, the big cable companies view these municipal upstarts as major threats. Companies like Time Warner Cable and CenturyLink may be unwilling to extend their networks to communities like Cedar Grove, but they don't want anyone else doing it either—such an incursion would pose a threat to North Carolina’s de facto cable duopoly. Ironically, the weapon these traditionally regulation-shy companies have turned to in order to fight the municipal broadband effort is regulation.
Doc Searls also weighed in:
Here’s a simple fact for Governor Perdue to ponder: In the U.S. today, the leading innovators in Internet build-out are cities, not phone and cable companies. Look at Chatanooga and Lafayette — two red state cities that are doing an outstanding job of building infrastructure that attracts and supports new businesses of all kinds. Both are doing what no phone or cable companies are able or willing to do. And both are succeeding in spite of massive opposition by phone and cable companies.
And finally, Rick Yuzzi from ZCorum
In my opinion, a city should be able to set up a broadband business. It’s not likely to do so unless there is a compelling need in the community. If they do, and they provide a well run and profitable service, the service will survive. If it’s poorly run and a drain on city resources, citizens can vote with their dollars, as well as at the ballot box.
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