Clyburn Says States Should Not Preempt Community Broadband

Speaking at the SouthEast Regional Chapter conference of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, Federal Communications Commission member Mignon Clyburn noted that the FCC and the National Broadband Plan oppose state preemption of local broadband networks. "Thus, the Plan recommends that Congress clarify that State and local governments should not be restricted from building their own broadband networks. I firmly believe that we need to leverage every resource at our disposal to deploy broadband to all Americans. If local officials have decided that a publicly-owned broadband network is the best way to meet their citizens' needs, then my view is to help make that happen."