Ohio Republicans close to imposing near-total ban on municipal broadband

[Ohio Joe]

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/06/ohio-republicans-close-to-imposing-near-total-ban-on-municipal-broadband/

There are reasons I don't live in Ohio anymore... The main one being the scary number of RWNJ's that persist in fucking over the people of Ohio.

And get this shit:

"It's not even clear who proposed the new law. "The language, inserted without prior public discussion during recent state Senate deliberations on Ohio's two-year budget, is drawing condemnation from numerous sources. Officials have not said who put the language in the Senate budget document, only that they learned of it for the first time last week," the Akron Beacon Journal wrote on June 13."

What the fuck?

[Hortensis]

1. One of those defining actions for those who still don't believe

it can happen here.

Well, at least for smarter people among those who still don't believe it.

[Midnight Writer]

2. This stuff happens when you rely on ALEC to write your legislative bills.

[SWBTATTReg]

3. This is a very obvious ploy to restrict competition in the broadband area. Very idiotic, as

(one) not all service providers are the same (two) not all areas can be served via the same methods as other areas (three) is there a mandate in the bill to dictate that said competitors will serve all areas if municipal broadband is out? (four) very anti-competitive, I thought that free enterprise was the key here, to allow wide open competition?

I suspect that the other companies in the state that offer broadband will jump in and fight the bill language. This is ridiculous and again, clearly shows that the representatives care only about their bottom line and not the consumers in Ohio.

[leftieNanner]

5. Plus, as I said in my response

Sounds like a legislator got a nice fat contribution to his reelection fund from Comcast.

[SWBTATTReg]

6. Someone did, obviously. Hopefully others will jump in and fight this bill as written, it's

stupid and dangerous to have only one provider. For a whole state too!

[leftieNanner]

4. WTF indeed

Somebody got a nice fat donation from Comcast in there somewhere.

This is just another way to screw poor people.

[we can do it]

7. I'm with ya. WTF

[exboyfil]

8. Trying this crap in Iowa as well

I love my municipal broadband. Those outside my municipality are envious of it.