A fascinating history. The city of Geneva tried to roll out a well thought out municipal broadband bill via a resolution in 2003. SBC/AT&T fought it tooth and nail and defeated it in two elections. A citizen’s group in support was outspent $4,325 to $282,064.

AT&T meanwhile is arguing that existing franchise agreements do not apply to “Project Lightspeed”, and any town or city that disagrees with this premise is being sued. Peter Collins, the Information Systems Manager of Geneva, Illinois, is on the receiving end of one of those lawsuits.

Peter has a unique view of the nation’s broadband infrastructure, as his city tried twice to wire itself with fiber and offer residents fiber triple-play services, only to be beaten back by deep pocketed incumbent PR campaigns. We discuss his city’s past battles, the current lawsuit, and Geneva’s difficult techn

Fast forward to today - AT&T continues to roll-out their network and when the City establishes a moratorium until the hulking telco box installations can be studied - AT&T sues. Under HR 5252 (the COPE bill) - cities like Geneva will have no choice but to step aside (or be stepped on).

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- Posted by Michael for USTV Media