Opelika Power Services (OPS) will not be allowed to expand its fiber-to-the-home access outside Opelika city limits, after SB 228 was defeated in committee by members of the Alabama State Senate. Sen. Tom Whatley presented the bill that would have allowed OPS to extend its services into Lee County, where the senator lives. His colleagues in the Senate Transportation and Energy Committee voted 7-6 against the bill. MuniNetworks.org reported the vote was non-partisan, but was in favor of a number of AT&T lobbyists.
Whatley was perturbed with the decision. He said, “It really aggravates me because I have boiled one bill down to where it only allows Opelika to go into Lee County. It cuts out the other counties.” According to Alabama state law, municipal providers are not allowed to offer advanced telecommunications services outside city limits. Whatley’s bill would have allowed OPS and similar providers to expand further, but only throughout the county in which they are based.
Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller stated in an opinion column to Opelika-Auburn News, the city was forced into operating the fiber service. “We first went to another large private cable and telephone company and asked if they would be willing to deploy a broadband network within Opelika. They refused, stating that Opelika was too small a market to make such a large investment,” he explained.
While Opelika may be considered a small market, the region has experienced recent growth. Milken Institute named the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Statistical Area as the sixth best performing small city in the United States, and it appears the area will continue to expand. Currently, SB 228’s companion bill, HB 375, is sitting in the House Commerce and Small Business Committee. Since there is no guarantee the bill will pass the legislature, Opelika and surrounding Lee County may look elsewhere for high-speed internet access.
April 12, 2017
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