Save Muni Wireless

ACT NOW: Contact State Senators

May 27 update: This action alert has been superceded. New action alert here.

ACTION ALERT

Action is needed now to save municipal wireless in Texas.

Recently, the Texas House of Representatives approved a ban on wireless community Internet. Thanks to the efforts of our supporters, the Texas House rejected the sweeping ban proposed by the big phone companies. Instead, they approved a smaller—but nonetheless harmful—ban on municipal wireless technologies.

The HB 789 legislation will now be considered by the Texas Senate. The chair of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee has expressed grave reservations over this legislation. We have a great opportunity to explain why a wireless ban is bad for Texas.

For more information on the effort to support municipal broadband, visit http://savemuniwireless.org/

Take Action Now

Please contact your State Senator and ask him or her:

Please remove all restrictions on municipal broadband from HB 789. Texas needs more broadband choices, not fewer. Every Texas community deserves the right to decide how best to build its critical infrastructure.

You can find the contact information for your representative here: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/fyi/fyi.htm

Contact Business and Commerce Committee Members

HB 789 will be heard by the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce. Please contact committee members and ask them:

Please remove all restrictions on municipal broadband from HB 789. Texas needs more broadband choices, not fewer. Every Texas community deserves the right to decide how best to build its critical infrastructure.

This is particularly important if your state senator sits on this committee. Please contact them and let them know you are a constituent who opposes limitations on municipal broadband.

The committee members are:

Prepare to Testify

If you are involved in a broadband project that may be affected by HB 789, your testimony could help us overturn the ban. Please consider appearing before the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce to testify against the anti-muni provisions. The hearing has not been scheduled yet, and we anticipate there will be very little warning when it does, so please plan now. Please contact us (contact info below) if you have any questions, or if you might be interested in testifying.

Let Us Know

If you send a letter or fax to your representatives, please send us a copy of your letter so we can track who has been contacted. You can send copies either by email to info@savemuniwireless.org or by fax to 815-301-8302. If you receive a response, please let us know.