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Montana to FCC: You Can't Stop Us From Protecting Net Neutrality

posted by martyb on Monday January 29 2018, @08:58PM   
from the waiting-for-48-more-states-to-follow-suit dept.

Fnord666 writes:

The Montana governor's office has a message for the Federal Communications Commission and Internet service providers: the state can't be stopped from protecting net neutrality, and ISPs that don't like it don't have to do business with state agencies.

Governor Steve Bullock signed an executive order to protect net neutrality on Monday, as we reported at the time. But with questions raised about whether Bullock is exceeding his authority, the governor's legal office prepared a fact sheet that it's distributing to anyone curious about potential legal challenges to the executive order.

ISPs are free to violate net neutrality if they only serve non-government customers—they just can't do so and expect to receive state contracts. "Companies that don't like it don't have to do business with the State—nothing stops ISPs from selling dumpy Internet plans in Montana if they insist," the fact sheet says.

The FCC's repeal of net neutrality rules attempts to preempt states and localities from issuing their own similar rules. But Bullock's executive order doesn't directly require ISPs to follow net neutrality rules. Instead, ISPs that accept contracts to provide Internet service to any state agency must agree to abide by net neutrality principles throughout the state.

Source: Ars Technica

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Original Submission

• Re:The state is just as vulnerable to monopoly (Score: 3, Informative) by darnkitten on Tuesday January 30 2018, @05:31PM

  by darnkitten (1912) on Tuesday January 30 2018, @05:31PM (#630479)

  From the Montana Code Annotated:

  2-17-603. Government competition with private internet services providers prohibited -- exceptions. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2)(a) or (2)(b), an agency or political subdivision of the state may not directly or through another agency or political subdivision be an internet services provider.
            (2) (a) An agency or political subdivision may act as an internet services provider if:
            (i) no private internet services provider is available within the jurisdiction served by the agency or political subdivision; or
            (ii) the agency or political subdivision provided services prior to July 1, 2001.
            (b) An agency or political subdivision may act as an internet services provider when providing advanced services that are not otherwise available from a private internet services provider within the jurisdiction served by the agency or political subdivision.
            (c) If a private internet services provider elects to provide internet services in a jurisdiction where an agency or political subdivision is providing internet services, the private internet services provider shall inform the agency or the political subdivision in writing at least 30 days in advance of offering internet services.
            (3) Upon receiving notice pursuant to subsection (2)(c), the agency or political subdivision shall notify its subscribers within 30 days of the intent of the private internet services provider to begin providing internet services and may choose to discontinue providing internet services within 180 days of the notice.
            (4) Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit an agency or political subdivision from:
            (a) offering electronic government services to the general public; or
            (b) acquiring access to the internet from a private internet services provider in order to offer electronic government services to the general public.

  As interpreted, it generally prevents muni-wifi, etc.

  Parent

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