State Sen. Janice Bowling, R-Tullahoma, whose district includes Marion County, is one of the legislative sponsors of a bill that would allow cities to expand their broadband networks.Rural residents shouldn't to have wait another year - or more - for Tennessee legislators to get more study results on broadband Internet access in the Volunteer State.
The facts are already clear: Some residents yards away from high-speed access can't get it because some providers understandably don't find it cost efficient to extend their operations into such rural areas. Yet, those same providers don't want municipal Internet providers - who are willing to do so - to expand beyond their already set utility boundaries.
House Republican Leader Gerald McCormick of Chattanooga told Times Free Press editors and writers at a legislative roundtable last month that he didn't believe anything was likely to get done this legislative session on a bill to break the broadband logjam.
House Speaker Beth Harwell told a business organization something similar earlier this week, stating the legislature was likely to hold off on a bill until a state broadband study by the state's Department of Economic and Community Development is complete.
"My preference would be that the private sector take this over," she told the Knoxville News Sentinel. "We'll see if they can come to the plate and offer enough services to our rural areas. If they can, that would be my preference. If they can't, then I do think it becomes necessary for the public to enter."
However, Rep. Kevin Brooks of Cleveland, sponsor of the bill along with Sen. Janice Bowling of Tullahoma, said there is no time like the present. The bill, which has been filed several years without success, has picked up more support this session, and a supporting petition has gathered more than 3,000 signatures.
"There was a misconception that the broadband bill was dead," he said. "The bill is not dead."
The essence of the argument among legislators is whether local government-supported municipal providers would have an advantage over private companies - like AT&T and Comcast - if the bill is passed.
It's an understandable argument in most cases, but the law currently in place has allowed the private companies to be recalcitrant in their actions where expansion is not cost efficient.
Perhaps, there is a compromise that can be crafted to allow municipal providers to expand in rural areas where their service is immediately adjacent to the areas without broadband. Such a compromise would need to be limited in scope and completed without the expenses of a full rollout. That would give some customers the faster Internet they need without giving the government-supported providers carte blanche in the area. In the meantime, a broader legislative solution could be worked out.
"[The] argument is," said Brooks, "is it not time and is it not fair for every Tennessee family to have access to broadband?"