Fining the Cable Companies won't get very far as they simply have enough cash to buy all the politicians they need to stay ahead of the curve, particularly since they only need about 1/3 of the politicians to stymie any positive solution.
However, there is an interesting twist to this and being a resident of Kitsap county it has made me curious.
Under state law, the KPUD (Kitsap Public Utility District) can not sell its internet connections directly to customers, but must sell to resellers. The question then becomes, how can citizens of Kitsap County organize into an effective collective for the purposes of "resale" directly to other citizens within the community?
What are the requirements for becoming a "reseller" as far as KPUD. One could envision a corporation that is created by those who want to buy a share and then access can be sold directly by the corporation to Kitsap County residents no longer interested in paying high fees to Comcast for access. I figure I am an average Comcast user. I pay about $250 per month for their service, which in my case uses their TV and phone platforms. For internet I pay about $50, but if I drop the TV and phone I get to pay about $85-100 for exactly the same internet service. If I could pay about $35 for 1G/sec internet (I know get 50MB/sec), it would be a good deal as far as I am concerned and I suspect that with the money made the new citizens corporation could maintain the service and expand to cover new users, as well as finally give Comcast some competition, which they currently lack.
The advantage of this approach is that it could be done county wide, so Kitsap County users wouldn't have to fight Comcast in every county in the state, just to see competition in Kitsap county.
Are there any other Kitsap county residents thinking the same thing I am thinking? If so, please respond. Maybe something worthwhile can come of this story.