Chattanooga, Tennessee has the fastest, most affordable internet in the United States. Many of the rural areas surrounding it have dial up, satellite, or no internet at all. Chattanooga wants to expand its network so these rural areas can have the same Gbps and 10 Gpbs connections the city has. Rather than allow that to happen, Tennessee's legislature just voted to give Comcast and AT&T a $45 million taxpayer handout. This year, the Tennessee state legislature was finally considering a bill that would have let EPB expand its coverage (without providing it any special tax breaks or grants; EPB is profitable and doesn't rely on taxpayer money). Rather than pass that bill, Tennessee has just passed the "Broadband Accessibility Act of 2017," which gives private telecom companies—in this case, probably AT&T and Comcast—$45 million of taxpayer money over the next three years to build internet infrastructure to rural areas.
To be clear: EPB wanted to build out its gigabit fiber network to many of these same communities using money it has on hand or private loans at no cost to taxpayers. It would then charge individual residents for internet service. Instead, Tennessee taxpayers will give $45 million in tax breaks and grants to giant companies just to get basic infrastructure built. They will then get the opportunity to pay these companies more money for worse internet than they would have gotten under EPB's proposal.
sounds too simple. who deals with all the assholes who have internet problems when everyone gets it for free? that will inevitably cost more than 45 million
Oliver King
Burgers will defend this.
Isaiah Sanchez
Point proven.
Luke James
God dammit. Fuck Comcast. Bunch of crooks.
Samuel Green
Well no they won't, they'll just be unable to reply with their internet speed.
Logan Fisher
Ultimately it's for the best though. Less rednecks on the internet.
Adam Hill
Of course you want less whites on the web Merkel.
Christopher Cruz
Yeah ISPs being comprised of human garbage isn't news and neither are corrupt politicians. Lobbying should just be illegal, with a minimum sentence of having to walk naked down main stream of the city that you're seated in while the townsfolk throw rotten produce at you.
Jason Bell
:^)
Noah Perez
East TN user here.
AT&T and Comcast are notoriously terrible corporations, and our state legislature is full of cuckservative shitkickers -- so this doesn't surprise me at all. In a just world, they'd all be in jail for the thievery, fraud and corruption they engage in.
Logan Hill
bump. We need to spread the word about this and get the people who voted for this shit shoah'd in the primaries.
Kevin Jenkins
Nothing will happen.
Memphis here, nothing ever gets really shaken up in TN politics.
Ryder Gomez
It is retarded that we still pay for internet.
Sebastian Carter
On a related note, I'm growing these in my garden. Does the name imply that this sort/breed originated in TN? Or where do they come from?
Wyatt Gomez
What do you expect from hicks
Parker Gomez
I also grow peppers (in TN) and I've never heard of them.
Nolan Wood
> dumb rednecks > white
Hmmm
Sebastian Bennett
What is EPB?
Aiden Cook
>Fiber internet >free
I don't think you know what that word means.
Wiring the state for fiber would cost billions.
$45M is a compromise to promote broadband proliferation because a state that's 90% Appalachian mountains can't afford $2BN to drop fiber to every house.
Andrew Nelson
That's why I'm a bit puzzled about them. There are only very few sites selling the seeds (and claiming they come from TN, USA). On the other hand they are mostly suitable for decoration due to the intense colors, and not very tasty at all... so that might be the reason they are not overly popular.
Juan Walker
FUCK all telcoms and cable companies, they were given billions to expand and update their networks years ago, and they just took the money and ran. Zero accountability for the funds - where did that money go? We should all support municipalities providing their own services, in areas that they do, there's actual competition and it keeps rates super cheap.
Joseph Cruz
Their public utility (EPB) was willing to expand the fiber network using their own funds and private investment. The internet service wouldn't have been free but the expansion wouldn't have cost the taxpayers anything. Instead 45 million dollars of taxpayer money was given to Comcast and AT&T to do what EPB was willing to do at their own cost.
Normally at this point I'd chastise you for not reading the article but OP fucked up the link.
Brody Rogers
>To be clear: EPB wanted to build out its gigabit fiber network to many of these same communities using money it has on hand or private loans at no cost to taxpayers.
What is reading comprehension?
Ethan Cruz
>using money it has on hand or private loans at no cost to taxpayers Well, if it already has the money and / or won't cost tax payers anything, obviously this plan is still a go despite the competition from the commercial providers, right?
RIGHT?
Oh you're just a fucking shill, a >1 post by this ID shill, you don't really care about the topic or know anything about it, you were just told to make it here for your shekel.
Sage all >1 post threads.
Camden Hernandez
>Free
Yes, just like Socialism is free
Chase Bailey
>>To be clear: EPB wanted to build out its gigabit fiber network to many of these same communities using money it has on hand or private loans at no cost to taxpayers. >What is reading comprehension?
Implying that cost wouldn't have to be recouped with higher rates for something...
What is economics?
Noah Perry
> implying Comcast is cheaper
Seems you enjoy getting ripped off by kikes.
Blake Cox
If this doesn't redpill kids on how more government is bad and more competition is good I don't know what will
Adam Sanchez
Internet is controlled by telecom Jews, more news at 11.
Remember when they got Google Fiber shut down because it was "too competitive"? And now thanks to new legislation they'll probably become even richer selling consumer data.
Carson Anderson
Germany has some of the most expensive and slow Internet in the world. Large parts of germany still use copper wiring. A 75 Euro per month contract with the Telekom for mobile lte Internet with 6gb traffic volume while 100 GB mobile traffic are 3 Euro in france.
Ryan Kelly
To be fair Tennessee is notoriously corrupt and them along with Kentucky are the worst about porkbarrelling in federal and state bills.
This is really shitty, but unsurprising. Those two states are basically giant good ol boys systems.
Lincoln Nelson
This. If they didn't intentionally stifle fiber competition we would have seen proves drop like a rock by now.
Ian Roberts
I literally moved to Japan just because I hated Comcast so much I would rather pay NTT 70 dollareydoos a month for gigabit fiber and still be left without landline phone service and only 12 tv channels than suffer another minute capped under the silver-stained fingers of the coaxial Jew
Levi Parker
Fucking yes. Also from TN here
Lincoln White
>Be a 'Noogan >Deal with shit comcast prices, service, and outages for years >Become EPB customer >It's better in every way imaginable >Comcast & AT&T lobby state reps across the state >State reps vote to give your taxdollars to Comcast & AT&T
Every motherfucker involved should be buried under Brushy Mountain.
James Hill
Bahahahaahahahaha. Enjoy your shitty internet burgers. Lol!!!! Yanks btfo!!!!!
Juan Watson
Who cares about mobile?
Jonathan Collins
Kill them.
Xavier Smith
>muh internet
Joseph Stewart
Certainly not you, you basement dwelling fatass. You missed the part where even normal Internet is routed through copper wire and slow as fuck and more expensive than elsewhere.
