January 23, 2017
The Honorable Dan Hegeman
Chairman, Local Government and Elections Committee
Missouri Senate
201 West Capitol Avenue, Room 332
Jefferson City MO 65101
Dear Chairman Hegeman:
We, the private-sector companies and associations listed below, urge you to reject SB 186. This bill is
identical to last year’s HB 2078, which did not pass after extensive analysis and discussion exposed its
deep flaws. SB 186 would amount to a virtual ban on local choice, harming both the public and private
sectors, stifling economic growth, preventing the creation or retention of jobs around the State,
particularly in rural areas, hampering work-force development, and diminishing the quality of life in
Missouri.
In particular, SB 186 will hurt the private sector by derailing or unnecessarily complicating and delaying
public-private partnerships, by interfering with the ability of private companies to make timely sales of
equipment and services to public broadband providers, by denying private companies timely access to
advanced networks over which they can offer business and residential customers an endless array of

 modern products and services, and by impairing economic and educational opportunities that contribute
to a skilled workforce from which businesses across the state will benefit.
As we noted last year, the United States must compete in a global economy in which advanced
communications networks are playing an increasingly significant role. The U.S. needs affordable
access to such networks in as many communities as possible, as rapidly as possible, so that innovators
can develop next-generation applications and services that will drive economic growth and global
competitiveness. Unfortunately, in many communities in Missouri and across America, particularly in
rural areas, the current communications service providers are unable or unwilling to invest in advanced
communications networks rapidly enough to enable the communities to stay abreast of their peers
elsewhere in the United States and around the world. These communities should be free of artificial
barriers, including the cumbersome, time-consuming, expensive, and ambiguous requirements of
SB 186, to do their part to help bring affordable high-capacity broadband connectivity to all Americans
and to advance America’s global competitiveness.
Communities in Missouri are eager to work with willing established carriers, enter into public-private
partnerships with new entrants, develop their own networks, if necessary, or create other innovative
means of acquiring affordable access to advanced communications capabilities. These are
fundamentally local decisions that should be made by the communities themselves, through the
processes that their duly elected and accountable local officials ordinarily use for making comparable
decisions. They should also be able to use their own resources as they deem appropriate to foster
economic development, educational opportunity, public safety, and much more, without having to
comply with the restrictive bottlenecks that SB 186 would impose.
We support strong, fair, and open competition to ensure that users can enjoy the widest range of
choices and opportunities. SB 186 would take us in the wrong direction. It is bad for Missouri
communities, particularly rural communities, bad for the private sector, particularly high-technology
companies, and bad for America’s global competitiveness. Please do not pass SB 186 or any
amendment or other measure that could significantly impair community broadband
deployments or public-private partnerships in Missouri.
Sincerely,
Atlantic Engineering
Coalition for Local Internet Choice
CTC Energy & Technology
Fiber to the Home Council
Google
Indeed
Internet Association
National Association of Telecommunications
Officers and Advisors
cc:

Netflix
Next Century Cities
Nokia
OnTrac
Telecommunications Industry Association
Ting Internet
Utilities Technology Council

Members of the Local Government and Elections Committee