The FCC will vote next month on whether to help cities build their own Internet

[littlemissmartypants]

Telecom regulators will vote on petitions in February from two cities that want more flexibility to build and operate their own Internet service, a FCC official confirmed.

The petitions from Chattanooga, Tenn. and Wilson, N.C. request federal help in preempting state laws that make it difficult for city governments to set up government-run competitors to large Internet providers such as Comcast, Verizon and AT&T. The vote is expected to take place at the FCC's monthly meeting on Feb. 26, said the FCC official, who declined to be named because the commission's agenda has not been released.

If the petitions are approved, it would set up a battle between the federal government and 20 states that either ban municipal broadband projects outright or create hurdles for local communities that feel they need a public alternative to commercial broadband.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/01/15/the-fcc-will-vote-next-month-on-whether-itll-help-cities-build-their-own-internet/

More back story here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/01/13/obama-to-help-cities-build-their-own-public-internet-service-to-rival-large-isps/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/11/06/big-cable-helped-defeat-seattles-mayor-mcginn-but-they-couldnt-stop-this-colorado-project/