North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue said Friday she would neither sign nor
veto a just passed municipal broadband bill by the Friday midnight deadline,
which means it will go into effect.
"There is a need to establish rules to prevent cities and towns from
having an unfair advantage over providers in the private sector," she said
in a statement explaining her decision to neither block nor support it.
"My concern with House Bill 129 is that the restrictions the General
Assembly has imposed on cities and towns who want to offer broadband services
may have the effect of decreasing the number of choices available to their
citizens."
The bill limits how North Carolina municipalities can run and fund broadband
nets in competition to existing commercial carriers.
Cable operators were backing the bill, while state telecom officers and
advisors were opposed.
