NetworkWorld

Telecommunications ministers from at least 18 European Union countries have rejected a proposal by network operators to have major technology companies fund the rollout of 5G and broadband. The proposal, put forward by lobbying groups GSMA and ETNO (which represent 160 operators across Europe), says that big tech companies that account for more than 5% of a provider’s peak average internet traffic should help foot the bill for rolling out the services across Europe.

A little more than 10 years ago, Comcast stuffed mailboxes in Batavia, Illinois, in the weeks leading up to a vote on a referendum measure attempting to establish a municipal broadband network, warning of failed projects and other horror stories that would come to life if they voted in favor of it.

All of this was done while keeping the source of these fliers -- Comcast and SBC Communications, which later merged with AT&T -- in the finest of fine print.

The tactic worked, leading residents of Batavia and nearby Geneva and St. Charles to vote the measure down twice even though more than 72% of area residents who responded to a 2001 survey were in favor of a broadband and cable overhaul.