The small town of Chanute, Kan., has hit a bit of a roadblock in its effort to install a 1 Gbps fiber network in the town.
AT&T, the provider of Chanute’s 6 Mbps DSL network, is using a 1947 Kansas law that requires permission from the state to use bonds for utility projects to intervene in the process.
The almost 70-year-old law regulating utilities requires the city to get approval from the Kansas Corporation Commission for bonds that pay for construction, expansion or improvements in utility services.
“Any decision made by the KCC could impact AT&T’s business operations in the area, which is why we asked to intervene in the proceeding,” the company said in a written response to The Wichita Eagle. “AT&T remains interested in both broadband issues and the work of the KCC.”
The fiber network would give the town of a little more than 9,000 residents access to Internet speeds similar to the Google Fiber deployed in Kansas City, Mo., while also being 42% cheaper.
The city-planned service would have a 1 gigabit download speed and is projected to cost residents only $40 per month, which is 14 times faster and 60% cheaper than the city’s current fastest Internet service.
Some see this as a heavy-handed move by AT&T. It led one Reddit user to make the picture below, which appears to compare AT&T to the all-seeing eye of Sauron from the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
Despite the injunction, Chanute city officials don’t seem too concerned. Larry Gates, Chanute’s utilities director, told The Wichita Eagle the city is ready to issue the bonds as soon as they get the commission’s OK. “This is our last hurdle,” he said. “I imagine we’ll do it right away.”
In response to questions from Ars Technica, AT&T said they have not taken a position on whether the town should have access to the fiber network, and according to Ars Technica, “described their intervention as a routine procedural matter used when an interested party believes it will be affected by a case and wants the opportunity to receive information and keep up with its developments.”
AT&T has yet to file any testimony in the case.
