Cities should stay out of broadband

[Commentary] Cities shouldn't be getting into the Internet and cable-TV business. A proposal being pushed in the state Senate to require municipalities to get voter approval if they borrow money to pay for broadband infrastructure doesn't seem like an unreasonable demand.

Cities shouldn't be in the business of competing with private industry. There are a number of options available for people who want to purchase high-speed Internet service. Providers offer broadband through cable connections, DSL, wireless cards that plug into our computers, and satellite connections. They vary in quality, cost, speed and dependability. Not all neighborhoods have the same options. Predictably, rural and less-densely populated areas may have fewer options than central city business districts and urban neighborhoods. Private providers, such as cable companies or telephone companies, provide broadband service to a significant portion of North Carolina's population, but they don't reach into every neighborhood or go down every road in the state. For cities to get deeper into the business of providing broadband connections, they have to take risks that the private providers have decided not to take, either because they haven't had time to extend the service or because they don't see enough profit to warrant the infrastructure investment. Cities take a big risk if they must borrow money to pay to run fiber-optic cable lines. If cities decide to take those risks, the people of those cities, who will eventually pay the bills, should at least be asked whether or not such risk is worth it. An effort to require a referendum for such borrowing is a wise one, and we hope his colleagues in the General Assembly see that wisdom.