Image
Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
AL Legislators Don't Wanna Hear It: Local Authority Bill Stalls In Committee
By
on
Alabama Republican State Senator Tom Whatley tried again this session to convince his colleagues that municipal utilities need the ability to expand beyond current coverage areas. Once again, his appeal to common sense for better connectivity fell on deaf ears.
Deja Vu
Whatley, representing the Auburn region, held fast to his promise to bring back a proposal like 2015’s SB 438. Early in February, he introduced SB 56, which stalled in the Senate Transportation and Energy Committee, unable to get a hearing. The bill eliminated limitations on both services offered and where municipal systems can offer those services.
In a January OANow article, Whatley explained that, once again, he was driven by the desire to improve economic development in Auburn:
On the local level, Sen. Tom Whatley, R-Auburn, is sponsoring two bills that he hopes will drive industry to and create jobs in Auburn and Opelika. An Internet availability bill would allow municipalities that offer their own high-speed [gigabit] Internet service, such as the city of Opelika, to expand and offer it in other areas, such as in Auburn and Russell or Tallapoosa counties, which are not eligible for [gigabit] service through private Internet companies.
“The [gigabit] service is something that businesses look for,” Whatley said, adding industries look at [gigabit] Internet the way they do school systems and water and sewer before moving their business into a city. “It’s an economic development tool.”
To Spread The Wealth
Opelika is proof positive in Alabama that municipal networks spur economic growth. Since deploying their Gigabit per second (Gbps) Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network, the community has experienced significant growth, a number of awards, and local subscribers love the service they get from Opelika Power Services (OPS).
OPS would like to offer the same fast, affordable, reliable high-quality Gigabit connectivity to nearby Auburn, but the state’s restrictions prevent expansion. From a February OANow article on SB 56:
“We have an obligation to serve our citizens, but we can’t go across the street into Auburn. We can’t go across the street into the county. You’ve got some folks in the county who are literally in a digital desert,” [Opelika Mayor Gary] Fuller said. “The Opelika City Schools have a gig of Internet speed. Auburn does not have a gig of speed. We’d love to serve not only Auburn City Schools, but also Auburn University with ultra high-speed Internet.”…
“[The network is] owned by the citizens, just like the power company. The power company has been owned by the citizens for over 100 years,” Fuller said…
“We just want to offer our service to folks who don’t have service or inadequate service or less-than-ideal service…Sen. Whatley has been our champion on this.”
Mayor Fuller told OANow that he was ready to testify before the Transportation and Energy Committee but no hearing was ever scheduled before the session ended on May 4th.
An Easy Fix
With the Appellate Court considering the FCC’s reversal of state limitations in Tennessee and North Carolina, there is a chance that Sen. Whatley may not need to continue to press his colleagues for changes in state law. Rather than depending on federal intervention to set things right, however, state leaders have the opportunity to restore local authority now.
Sen. Whatley has the right idea - let communities make their own connectivity decisions by removing state barriers.
Geoterm
Related Stories
Broadband Bills To Enhance Local Autonomy Thwarted By Wisconsin State Senate
In a setback to efforts aimed at enhancing broadband access across Wisconsin, the state Senate this week dealt a blow to three key bills aimed at improving various aspects of broadband provision.
Caution Ahead: RDOF and BEAD Collision Course
The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund was supposed to drive affordable fiber into vast swaths of long-underserved parts of rural America. But the program has been plagued with problems since its inception, putting both current and future broadband funding opportunities at risk. French-owned cable company Altice is the latest to announce it would be defaulting on 18 census block groups in Louisiana.
Selma, 17 Other Alabama Communities Will See Construction of $230 Million Open Access Fiber Network
Selma, Alabama – and parts of 16 other communities in eight different counties – will soon be connected to a new, $230 million open access fiber network that aims to bring affordable broadband to historically marginalized sections of the Yellowhammer State. The deployment comes courtesy of a public private partnership (PPP) the city has struck with Meridiam Infrastructure and Meridiam-owned YellowHammer networks – an agreement that will launch the expansion of fiber access across Alabama’s Black Belt region.
Alabama Electric Cooperatives Power Ahead With $35 Million In New State Broadband Grants
Four different Alabama electric cooperatives receive nearly $35 million in grant funding to expand fiber access to more than 11,092 rural Alabama homes and businesses. Meanwhile, the big incumbents operating in the state, Charter and Mediacom rake in lion's share of the rest of the state's federal Capital Projects Fund.
Harmful New Bill Aims To Undermine Popular Kentucky Utility’s Broadband Success
A looming new bill by Republican Kentucky State Senator Gex Williams could undermine decades of broadband progress made in the state’s capital city by a popular locally-owned utility, Frankfort Plant Board (FPB). Home to 28,000 Kentuckians, locals and utility officials are incensed at the bill, which they believe will unnecessarily result in higher rates, fewer jobs, and less broadband competition overall. Williams is circulating a bill in the Kentucky state legislature that, if passed, would force FPB to sell its broadband division to a private-sector company and subject it to more stringent oversight requirements.
Cullman Electric Cooperative Launches Next Phase Of Fiber Expansion
Cullman, Alabama-based Cullman Electric Cooperative says it is launching a new phase of fiber deployment after receiving a $7 million grant to bring affordable fiber access to long-neglected Cullman and Winston counties. Cullman’s $7 million portion will bring affordable fiber access to 1,300 families, marketed under the Sprout brand.