5 ms·

Comcast HATES this one US city! (Sorry, had to) What area do you live in? I've heard of cities trying to do things like this and ISPs clamping down and suing t

Comcast HATES this one US city! (Sorry, had to) What area do you live in? I've heard of cities trying to do things like this and ISPs clamping down and suing the city to stop any sort of public infrastructure. I'd be interested to read about if/how the people in your area had to deal with this.

vec 9y ago
Not the OP, but I'm guessing they live up the road from me in Longmont, CO. Comcast does indeed hate this, and spent roughly $300k on questionably ethical political ads[1] in a city with less than 100k residents. [1] https://muninetworks.org/content/longmont-votes-again-comcast-breaks-spending-record-opposing-referendum https://muninetworks.org/content/longmont-votes-again-comcas...
- rch 9y ago
  A similar effort was just killed in Boulder a couple of weeks ago, by Comcast and others.
  - jbuhl 9y ago
    What were the Comcast shills' arguments? It seems like a local politician could run on internet as a utility and win if publicized correctly.
    - vec 9y ago
      "Mayor #{city_official} wants to raise YOUR TAXES to line the pockets of their friends at #{local_construction_firm}. Call your alderman and tell him to vote NO on Proposition #{proposition_id}!" "Mayor #{city_official} wants to pass JOB KILLING REGULATIONS that could put #{comcast_employees.count} of your neighbors out of work! Sign this petition opposing Proposition #{proposition_id}!" "Mayor #{city_official} wants the GOVERNMENT to take over YOUR INTERNET. Vote NO on Proposition #{proposition_id} to keep your internet free!" It's not that hard if you don't care about fairness or accuracy.
      - pishpash 9y ago
        Until Americans get over the unnatural and hypocritical loathing of socialism, these ads will work. It's all very visceral and no rational education will counter it.
Jtsummers 9y ago
For a time I lived in Wilson, NC which was like this. Time Warner did hate that city, eventually sponsoring legislation (via donations to legislators) to bar municipal broadband. The jackasses had the gall to do this, when the primary reason the municipal broadband was established was because Time Warner refused to build out their network in Wilson. I suppose they thought there was no business for them there, until the city proved there was.
- pishpash 9y ago
  Sounds like your legislators hated the city. And the voters who put them in hated themselves.
  - state_less 9y ago
    The legislators probably liked the money, rubbing elbows with rich folks and cracking jokes about the proles. Behind their back of course. It's gotten so bad they'll joke right on the face. "I could shoot someone on 5th ave. and they'd still love me (Trump supporters)." Did supporters not realize how insulting that was? He is essentially making fun of their servile devotion right on the face and still it didn't break the spell.
  - stevenwoo 9y ago
    It's North Carolina, the rural dominated legislature punishes the urban areas continuously by passing rules that eliminate urban/municipal choices made democratically by imposing statewide majority rule when urban policies offend rural voters. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/north-carolina-lgbt-discrimination-transgender-bathrooms/475125/ https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/north-c... The same thing happened in Texas after Houston attempted and failed to pass an equal rights policy (so the state keeps trying to pass bathroom bills) and Austin forced Uber and Lyft to stop operating (so the state legislature overrode local jurisdiction).

vec 9y ago

Not the OP, but I'm guessing they live up the road from me in Longmont, CO. Comcast does indeed hate this, and spent roughly $300k on questionably ethical political ads[1] in a city with less than 100k residents. [1] https://muninetworks.org/content/longmont-votes-again-comcast-breaks-spending-record-opposing-referendum https://muninetworks.org/content/longmont-votes-again-comcas...

rch 9y ago
A similar effort was just killed in Boulder a couple of weeks ago, by Comcast and others.
- jbuhl 9y ago
  What were the Comcast shills' arguments? It seems like a local politician could run on internet as a utility and win if publicized correctly.
  - vec 9y ago
    "Mayor #{city_official} wants to raise YOUR TAXES to line the pockets of their friends at #{local_construction_firm}. Call your alderman and tell him to vote NO on Proposition #{proposition_id}!" "Mayor #{city_official} wants to pass JOB KILLING REGULATIONS that could put #{comcast_employees.count} of your neighbors out of work! Sign this petition opposing Proposition #{proposition_id}!" "Mayor #{city_official} wants the GOVERNMENT to take over YOUR INTERNET. Vote NO on Proposition #{proposition_id} to keep your internet free!" It's not that hard if you don't care about fairness or accuracy.
    - pishpash 9y ago
      Until Americans get over the unnatural and hypocritical loathing of socialism, these ads will work. It's all very visceral and no rational education will counter it.

Jtsummers 9y ago

For a time I lived in Wilson, NC which was like this. Time Warner did hate that city, eventually sponsoring legislation (via donations to legislators) to bar municipal broadband. The jackasses had the gall to do this, when the primary reason the municipal broadband was established was because Time Warner refused to build out their network in Wilson. I suppose they thought there was no business for them there, until the city proved there was.

pishpash 9y ago
Sounds like your legislators hated the city. And the voters who put them in hated themselves.
- state_less 9y ago
  The legislators probably liked the money, rubbing elbows with rich folks and cracking jokes about the proles. Behind their back of course. It's gotten so bad they'll joke right on the face. "I could shoot someone on 5th ave. and they'd still love me (Trump supporters)." Did supporters not realize how insulting that was? He is essentially making fun of their servile devotion right on the face and still it didn't break the spell.
- stevenwoo 9y ago
  It's North Carolina, the rural dominated legislature punishes the urban areas continuously by passing rules that eliminate urban/municipal choices made democratically by imposing statewide majority rule when urban policies offend rural voters. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/north-carolina-lgbt-discrimination-transgender-bathrooms/475125/ https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/north-c... The same thing happened in Texas after Houston attempted and failed to pass an equal rights policy (so the state keeps trying to pass bathroom bills) and Austin forced Uber and Lyft to stop operating (so the state legislature overrode local jurisdiction).