Telecom Rewrite -- Senator Ensign's (R-NV) Opening Salvo. AKA De-Regulation Though Centralization.

It's taken me 24 hours to get through the 75-pages of Ensign's proposed bill (attached below). In that time, I've also had a chance to read a lot of positive reviews of the bill. But having now had a chance to give it a close read, I have to say, this bill is a poison pill for local control. In fact, Ensign's bill strips communities of fundamental rights to self-govern and decide for themselves how to best serve local constituencies. Under the guise of "competition" this bill removes one of the last remaining bargaining chips local governments have -- franchising agreements. Under the guise of "competition" the bill will make it harder, not easier, for new companies to join the market. All around, this is a bad bill for communities nationwide. Telecommunications lawyer Harold Feld has posted a great overview of the nuances on his blog.