Category Archives: Legislation

Laws and bills affecting UTOPIA development and deployment.

Sen. Bramble Looking to Ban RDA Funds for Telecom

By | | ,
7 Comments

Senator Curt “Take My Check, Pizza Girl” Bramble is working on amending RDA laws in Utah to make sure that funds aren’t spent on any telecommunications projects. This is reportedly a direct reaction to Centerville’s proposed use of RDA funds to build fiber-optic infrastructure within the city, even though the proposal on the table allows any network to use it. Sen. Bramble has a well-deserved reputation for being prickly, so be prepared if you decide to communicate directly with him.

It’s very important that you write, call or speak with your senator or representative to make sure they know how you feel about this change. UTOPIA cities are working to make sure that the language will allow for it so long as it is vendor-neutral, but your voices are much, much louder.

Did UTOPIA Dodge a Legislative Bullet?

By | |
1 Comment

Survey says: most likely. I've been watching the bills that have been filed by Rep. Frank and Sen. Stephenson, co-chairs of the Government Competition and Privatization Subcommittee, and it appears that no amendments to the Municipal Cable Television and Public Telecommunications Act have been given bill numbers. For all intents and purposes, it's dead, Jim.

This doesn't mean the fight is over. I'm no lawyer (I'm sure some of you are), but it seems that HB75, HB76 and SB45 could all be construed to bring cumbersome new requirements to municipal broadband projects. It's not entirely impossible that Qwest didn't see these as a bad-door way to further bind UTOPIA given Qwest's private meetings with most members of the committee. If you want to keep an eye on these, might I recommend the following handy RSS feed of the bill status?

November 7 Subcommitte Meeting Postscript

By | | , ,
20 Comments

I was rather surprised to see the UTOPIA legislation get tabled at today's meeting. Given that this issue has consumed a significant amount of time at each meeting I've attended and has received a significant amount of public comment, I would think any proposals on the table would have been ready to go. Based on some observations outside of the official committee proceedings, I think Qwest is up to something.

For starters, I noticed that the Qwest rep would re-enter the room shortly after a member of the committee would. I also observed him having a one-on-one conversation with Sen. Stephenson during the lunch break. It's worrisome enough when legislation starts being discussed outside of a public hearing, but that Qwest may have been a major force behind that concerns me even more. Just what are they up to? Will there be sufficient chance for public review, or will this be rushed through via a "boxcar" bill? We stand at a serious risk of seeing some stealth anti-UTOPIA legislation pushed through in the 11th hour.

It's critically important that EVERYONE write, call and e-mail their elected representatives to express their opinion on UTOPIA and get to legislators before Qwest has a chance to. They want a fight? By golly we'll give them one.

Liveblogging the Government Competition and Privatization Subcommittee: November 7, 2007

By | |
4 Comments

It's time for another liveblogging! It's looking like the meeting is likely to start late… again. Maybe we could all chip in to buy the committee members some new watches. 😉

1:04PM It sounds like the tabled items are going to have minimal effect on UTOPIA or other muni broadband projects. Given that, I think I'll skip on out of here. I'll be following up with members of the subcommittee to make sure that the public will have additional chances to review and provide input on whatever new law they will be proposing.

12:55PM Whoa. The UTOPIA legislation is not going to be discussed today. The reason? They're going to "seek consensus" from UTOPIA, Qwest and Comcast before making further amendments on the bill. My main concern there is that this will not be done in public hearings so we might not be able to weigh in again before the general session starts. I'll make sure to keep track of this one and keep everyone updated.

12:53PM The meeting is back in session. Aside from the tabled items, the UTOPIA legislation is all that remains.

Continue reading →

Reminder: Subcommittee Meeting Tomorrow Morning

By | | ,
1 Comment

Just a reminder that the Government Competition and Privatization Subcommittee will be meeting tomorrow, Wednesday November 7th at 9AM in Room W125 of the House Building at the Capitol Complex. This meeting will be to specifically discuss UTOPIA-related legislation as discussed in the prior meeting. (Read more here.) Prior to the meeting, it will be very important that you e-mail members of the committee to express how you feel about the proposals on the table. Killing bills in committee is much easier than trying to kill them during the general session.

Hope to see a bunch of you there tomorrow morning!

(h/t to forum member aef123 for reminding me to post something.)

Comcast Facing Wrath of Consumers, Congressmen, Wall Street Over BitTorrent Throttling

By | | , , ,
1 Comment

In the wake of Comcast's throttling, er, "delaying" of BitTorrent connections, it seems like all hell has broken loose for the mammoth cable operator. Not only are they facing lawsuits, consumer complaints to the FCC and some seriously peeved members of Congress, but they'll also have to contend with a re-energized network neutrality debate.

Throughout the whole process, Comcast has made itself look worse and worse. First they denied. Then when the AP caught them, they tried to spin it and claim that they were "delaying" instead of outright blocking. Then when an internal memo got leaked detailing their official policy, they started on a witch-hunt to find and terminate the responsible employee. So to recap, Comcast thinks that good PR consists of deny, spin, fire whomever talked. It's a Reality Distortion Field™ that would make Steve Jobs proud.

Since the story broke, Wall Street has been pounding the company, sending their stock price to a 52-week low. Even prior to their dismal earnings report on the 25th, the stock had already dropped about 25% from it's 52-week high. What's to blame? Probably their poor customer service driving customers away to services like Verizon's FIOS and a lack of dial-up customers to continue their growth. Industry observers have said it's time for them to start dropping prices, but that doesn't jive with their plans to jack up television rates even higher.

Do you hear that, Comcast? That is the sound of inevitability. That is the sound of your irrelevance. 

Upcoming UTOPIA Legislation

By | | ,
5 Comments

As part of the last Government Competition and Privatization Subcommittee, proposed legislation regarding UTOPIA has been handed out. Needless to say, it's a Qwest dream come true designed to unduly restrict UTOPIA from expanding beyond the current membership. Since it's not available online yet, I'll transcribe it with some of my own thoughts. These are all amendments to the Municipal Cable Television and Public Telecommunications Services Act.

Continue reading →