The Federal Communications Commission has overruled state laws and voted to allow municipal broadband,
The Wall Street Journal reported.
The FCC ruling, while applying only to two cities, goes against state mandated blocks of such services — which have been passed by 20 states, the Journal said.
The commissioners voted Thursday on petitions from Chattanooga, Tennessee and Wilson, North Carolina. Both had sought freedom from state restrictions on expanding broadband to their communities, the Journal said.
The commission's rationale in overruling state laws was because some towns feel like private sector broadband development has not moved fast enough to cover their needs, the Journal said, noting that now such municipalities could work to build their own networks.
"Some states have designed thickets of red tape designed to limit competition," FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said in announcing the 3-2 vote. "We are cutting away that red tape consistent with Congress's instructions to encourage the deployment of broadband."
Not all FCC commissioners agreed with the ruling. Amit Pai, an outspoken critic of the agency's transparency, said Thursday that he didn't think the FCC had the legal power to overstep state laws.
Another Republican FCC commissioner, Michael O'Rielly agreed, the Journal reported. "I'm deeply troubled by the policy implications of this order."
The Verge called the decision "a landmark moment that other communities will point to as they try to compete against commercial ISPs and knock down those deeply restrictive state laws."
The Verge said the FCC defended its authority under Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act that says its mission is to encourage broadband expand around the nation.
Noted the FCC in a press release: "Under federal law, a federal agency may preempt state laws that conflict with its regulations or policies so long as it is acting within the scope of its authority. There is a clear conflict, the Order finds, between Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which directs the FCC to take action to remove barriers to broadband investment and competition, and provisions of the Tennessee and North Carolina law that erect barriers to expansion of service into surrounding communities, including unserved and underserved areas."
The tech website
Gizmodo said the decision allows small cities to compete against corporate telecom titans and give more people choice on Internet providers.
Gizmodo added that the plan, outlined by President Barack Obama last month, was to help cities compete with broadband providers like Comcast, which it said had consumers in a "stranglehold."
Governors, however, had urged the FCC not to interfere with state laws, while cable companies had also fought against Obama's pitch to allow such services for cities.
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