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Comment by openasocket | Hacker News Reader

It should be noted that it's not like this ISP is shutting down, it's just being barred from serving customers outside its county. This action shuts off service for about 200 people, but the ISP will continue to serve over 7,000. Still pretty bad, but not as bad as the headline makes it seem.

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How are government sponsored protectionist laws like this even legal? It's very frustrating.

Edit: For further context, both towns wanted the service, which makes it even more frustrating. If Wilson made its service private there'd be no issue.

Can a private enterprise be government owned? I guess not? How about a tiny startup with one person operating billing and they call it a "private-public partnership"?

I'm grasping at straws, I realize.

What about a non-profit? Sort of a way around the issue.

Further, everything you buy avoids sales tax, so that alone gets you an 8% cost advantage.

This was a warning shot to other muni's in NC capable of adding another angle of attack against the entrenched monopolies of internet access there.

If Time Warner didn't win this one, they know the cities of, and suburbs around, Raleigh, Charlotte, and Durham could start tearing away customers.

Removing the context makes it seem small. The game was far larger.

exactly

before realising you said 'warning shot' on my first read through of your comment i read it as 'winning shot'

precedent seems to hold more value for a lawyer than the law itself

is that criticism or explanation of affected legal systems?

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