Friday, June 03, 2005
A.K.A. Corruption
Is this the land of the free?
Jax
U.S. Representative Pete Sessions of Dallas has just introduced federal legislation to ban municipal broadband networks nationally. HR 2726 (ironically named "Preserving Innovation in Telecom Act of 2005") would give the local phone company veto power over any municipal projects they don't like.
View the proposed legislation here. We all knew this was going to happen. The telcos are not going to sit back and let the recent deaths of anti-muni bills stop their campaign to deprive people of choice. They'll do anything to stifle competition. I guess when the markets just don't work for you, run to the legislature and get your lobbying machine in gear.
I checked Representative Session's bio and it reads in part:
[] Congressman Sessions joined Southwestern Bell Telephone Company after graduating from Southwestern University. Over the next 16 years, he served at the internationally renowned Bell Labs in New Jersey and as District Manager for Marketing in Dallas. Thanks to this private sector experience, Congressman Sessions understands the need to fight bureaucracy and to utilize market-driven solutions to effectively solve problems in our communities and in government. [] (Link)
Jax
U.S. Representative Pete Sessions of Dallas has just introduced federal legislation to ban municipal broadband networks nationally. HR 2726 (ironically named "Preserving Innovation in Telecom Act of 2005") would give the local phone company veto power over any municipal projects they don't like.
View the proposed legislation here. We all knew this was going to happen. The telcos are not going to sit back and let the recent deaths of anti-muni bills stop their campaign to deprive people of choice. They'll do anything to stifle competition. I guess when the markets just don't work for you, run to the legislature and get your lobbying machine in gear.
I checked Representative Session's bio and it reads in part:
[] Congressman Sessions joined Southwestern Bell Telephone Company after graduating from Southwestern University. Over the next 16 years, he served at the internationally renowned Bell Labs in New Jersey and as District Manager for Marketing in Dallas. Thanks to this private sector experience, Congressman Sessions understands the need to fight bureaucracy and to utilize market-driven solutions to effectively solve problems in our communities and in government. [] (Link)
