“HB60 is dead, Jim.”
(from Wikipedia)
Without any official action, HB60 died in the same fashion as SB190 and was sent back to rules to rot out the rest of the session without so much as a committee hearing. Between these two bills, municipal broadband advocates in Utah have racked up some big wins when we’re used to nonsense punitive laws sailing through without any opposition. What changed this year was being on top of these bills and swiftly letting legislators know how we feel about them. It might not be a bad idea to write Rep. Curt Webb to express appreciation that he backed down on HB60 once we spoke up. I have a gut feeling that he was had.
And no, I’m not going to take credit for anything. Each of you who took the time to write legislators and share this information as widely as possible across social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Reddit, etc.) had at least as much of a hand in this success. I think we’ve proved that we’re a force to be reckoned with. We just have to show up.
While I think we’ve reached a point where the war is now going in our favor, it’s not over. I’m sure Comcast and CenturyLink will be more than happy to use their hatchetmen at the Utah Taxpayers Association yet again to try and throw up roadblocks next year. Sen. Valentine is not the type to go quietly into the night, and SB190 (or something like it) is probably going to be discussed in interim committees. I have little doubt that other restrictive measures will come up too. Once I find out about them, you’ll know too.
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Gosh I wish we had someone across the pond in the UK who could stand up to the bunch here, the government is giving all our funding to the monopoly to protect their copper assets. We build our networks with fibre, but we just wish we could do more, and we could if government would support us instead of the obsolete victorian phone network full of old boys in suits.
Good luck Utopia. Keep the faith.
Chris,
I just went to your website – http://b4rn.org.uk/. Impressive what you are able to do. It seems some of our small rural municipalities could learn a thing or two from your experience. Jesse, while I suspect this websites charter isn’t to highlight other FTTP or FTTH projects, I would be intrigued to learn more about B4RN. Also, love the video of the ‘Fastest Chapel’ in England. 2ms Ping times with 100 meg service. Incredible. Keep the faith and keep going.