FCC will allow EPB to expand gigabit Internet beyond Chattanooga

The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 this morning to adopt an order that effectively will allow EPB to extend its Gigabit Internet service outside its defined service area of Chattanooga.

The FCC's vote - expected to be challenged in court and in Congress - preempts state laws in Tennessee and North Carolina restricting such expanded broadband coverage; both states limit community Internet services from moving into neighboring areas and counties.

EPB filed a petition last July asking the FCC to allow for the right to expand. Wilson, N.C., also filed a petition.

"The bottom line of these matters is that some states have created thickets of red tape designed to limit competition," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said. "These issues that we're talking about have a very human face."

Two residents from Tennessee who have struggled to get adequate Internet service were at the Washington, D.C., hearing. EPB president Harold DePriest and the company's vice president of strategic planning, Jim Ingraham, also had planned to be there.

EPB has said it intends to expand only to communities that want its service, and even then only after it is certain that it makes financial sense to do so. In 2008, EPB, a city-owned utility, won approval to offer service in Chattanooga.

Opponents - Comcast and AT&T, among others - argue that EPB is a public entity and that gives it an edge because it doesn't pay the same taxes as private competitors.

The commission's ruling applies only to the petitioning communities but could set a precedent for other communities to challenge their state laws. About 20 states have laws that restrict the activities of community broadband services, according to the FCC.

For the full story, check tomorrow's Times Free Press.

Contact staff writer Mitra Malek at mmalek@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6406. Follow her on Twitter @MitraMalek.