Joint Committee on Finance and Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology and Development
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Many residents of the City of Chicago lack access to high-speed internet connections at affordable prices; and
WHEREAS, Access to high-speed Internet connections is important because work, education and entertainment are increasingly moving online; and
WHEREAS, In most places in the United States, broadband access is exclusively provided by a small number of telecom companies; and ^
WHEREAS, State and local governments are starting to play an important role in making access to broadband networks available in their areas; and
WHEREAS, Municipalities have developed a variety of strategies for building local-owned broadband networks and promoting higher-speed Internet access; and
WHEREAS, In Chattanooga, Tennessee, a government-owned electric utility has built a citywide fiber network that operates 8,000 miles of fiber for 60,000 residential and 4,500 business customers and which President Obama has credited with helping to spur more technology and innovation in the city; and
WHEREAS, Near Salt Lake City, a group of towns have commissioned a private company to build a fiber-optic network for that area; and
WHEREAS, Universities and local governments in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina are working with AT&T to upgrade its network there; and
WHEREAS, Local governments in Connecticut have developed a program under which they will contract with a private entity to build and operate a state-of-the-art fiber-optic network at lower cost for users than traditional Internet service delivered by cable and phone companies; and
WHEREAS, New York is relying on regional economic development councils to develop plans for bringing faster Internet services to their parts of the state; and
WHEREAS, Wilson, North Carolina has built a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network through the town's electricity provider and the network currently provides television, phone, and in...
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