[Panino]

The big telcos have always been horrible and they will never change. I used to work for a small provider in that industry and always hated USWest because of that experience. They will never change as long as they exist, whatever name they go by.

Good to see Maine has a law protecting privacy. I agree with other commenters that this kind of law should be broad-spectrum, affecting all businesses from telcos to lemonade stands.

My ISP is a municipal fiber provider with strong and proud Net Neutrality. Obviously NN isn't a privacy issue, but it's unlikely to pair with trying to sell personal data (of our own neighbors!) for cash.

In addition to consumer protection laws, strongly consider supporting local municipal FTTH. Compared to Comcast, I pay less money for unmetered symmetric gigabit, it's run by ordinary people (not comic book villains), and the money stays here in town. All it takes is determined civic engagement.

(And that includes voting out the people who support these attacks against people.)

[DailyHN]

I would love to see a playbook on making that happen.

[Panino]

If you're asking how to create a municipal fiber ISP, take inspiration and guidance from existing success stories. It'll vary depending on the state and culture and require multiple steps. If telecoms have already bribed the state govt to ban municipal Internet, collect signatures for a ballot question on whether to allow municipalities to decide for themselves. Next, start a local campaign to promote municipal FTTH. There, keep your messaging simple, consistent, and on-point (see below).

Meanwhile, collect signatures for a small, non-threatening initiative like whether the city should explore the possibility of creating FTTH. Be involved in that process. Be helpful, positive, and patient. Contact other cities that have done this and get advice from them. Get the study/plan published. If the city govt is against it, vote them out and continue. Otherwise, encourage local govt to promote the plan. Then have a ballot question on whether to build the municipal fiber ISP.

Reasons to build a municipal fiber ISP:

  * lower cost Internet and money stays here
  * superior service
  * net neutrality and consumer protection
  * jobs, jobs, jobs
  * increased property values

[jaybeeayyy]

thank you! I hope my state (Virginia) can get on board with this because I'm just so tired of comcast and verizon.

[whafro]

I could imagine the dynamics in Virginia being more challenging than other states, given the relatively large size of municipalities (counties), where other states often have another level lower (township, town, city).

If you're trying to get Loudoun County to provide municipal fiber, that'd be a much bigger project/investment than a smaller municipality. Obviously some independent cities in Virginia are smaller (especially Falls Church), but most folks live in relatively large counties.

[programbreeding]

Step 1 would be living in a state where it's even legal to create a municipal ISP [0], since all the big guys have lobbied to try and make it illegal.

[0] https://broadbandnow.com/report/municipal-broadband-roadbloc...

[JMTQp8lwXL]

You might be interested in reading https://startyourownisp.com/.