Although there is a relative monopoly with cable service providers, there are some municipalities partnering with local telecoms to provide high-speed fiber to their geographic areas, usually towns/cities, and Google has made some inroads in that area as well. It’s an attempt to break the stranglehold the cable companies have in television and Internet services.

Well apparently the cable companies don’t like that, and they have now actually introduced legislation(!) to prevent those smaller companies from doing so in Kansas. That’s right, a coalition of private companies has been able to get a law they drafted into the lawmaking process of the *state senate.* Not a senator, not a lawmaker, but private companies. They would need the help of a representative, but it’s still scary. They later offered modifications, but they are non-specific and don’t leave me with any kind of warm fuzzy feeling inside.

As if the gift of the repeal of net neutrality wasn’t enough, now this. It may only be one location, but this is a slippery slope if I ever saw one. I normally let businesses do what they do, everyone knows big companies have used ruthless and single-minded techniques in the past (I’m looking at you Microsoft and Apple), but in my personal opinion this is worse because it is done out of desperation as more and more people are cutting their cable cord. It reminds me of the desperate measures the music industry went through as they flailed wildy in their confrontation with new technology. Instead of embracing it, they were sunk by their desperate attempts to remain in control, and now the cable companies are doing the same. The difference is, the music industry, while approaching it terribly, had a valid concern about the illegality of file-sharing. The cable companies are simply trying to stifle competition.  

We’ll see how it plays out. Normally I’d say there’s no way the coalition can prevail, but I also never would have guessed net neutrality would be rescinded, so you never know.