Save Muni Wireless

Esme Vos: Texas will join the laggards

In an analysis of the HB789 debate, Esme Vos, who covers municipal wireless worldwide at MuniWireless.com explains how Texas and the US are losing our competitive edge.

This bill does nothing except protect the stranglehold that large incumbent telcos have on the market for broadband services. Texas will join the laggards and if the state wants to attract and retain tech companies, it will find a cold shoulder. Guess where those people will go? To states and countries that encourage competition in broadband services, where telecommunications costs are lower and broadband is fast and ubiquitous.

Although the bill is not as bad as it was when originally written, you can see the dead hand of yesterday's industry - the incumbent telcos - all over it. I am surprised to see the Texas House align itself with a bunch of losers. The legislators say they want to ensure that government does not compete with business. Well they can say whatever they like, but this bill makes one thing clear: the legislature is favoring ONE type of business - the incumbent telco business - over the vast majority of businesses in the state.

The US... with its states trying to stop the only competition around (via municipal and utility deployments) is heading in the wrong direction.