Local governments should be able to serve residents by directly building...

their own high-speed networks will slow progress to our nation’s broadband goals and will hurt economic development and job creation in those areas,” he said. “I urge state and local leaders to focus instead on proposals that incentivize investment in broadband infrastructure, remove barriers to broadband build-out, and ensure widespread access to high-speed networks.” Legislators in Georgia have begun considering a bill this month (CD Feb 14 p12) that would limit municipalities’ ability to create their own networks, instituting a caveat that communities can only build such networks when unserved. Any community that wants to build its own network would have to apply to do so with the Georgia Public Service Commission and show the relevant area meets the unserved threshold. Genachowski gave no specific examples of states where such hand-tying proposals have been instituted or are being considered. FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn questioned the Georgia bill -- House Bill 282 -- directly last week. Genachowski did praise “municipal and public-private projects like those in Chattanooga, Tennessee and San Leandro, California” as “vital” to U.S. broadband strategy. He cited language from the National Broadband Plan defending local governments’ right to build their own networks as they deem appropriate. But investment “has and will come overwhelmingly from the private sector,” he added when crediting public-private partnerships.