An awful bill in Georgia could prevent communities from building their own high-speed Internet networks. We may have less than a week to stop it.

So who supports the deceptively named Municipal Broadband Investment Act (HB 282)? Exactly who you might suspect: cable and phone monopolies that too often fail to serve the communities that need broadband access the most.

Many communities across the nation have done a great job of creating their own next-generation broadband networks. Just look at Chattanooga, Tenn., which reinvigorated its economy thanks to a super-fast, affordable and city-owned fiber broadband network —the kind of network that HB 282 would block.

But Georgian DSL provider Windstream and its friends in the Georgia General Assembly want residents to be content with pricey second-rate broadband provided by big cable and phone companies.

Nineteen states have already passed laws preventing communities from building their own broadband networks. We can’t let Georgia join this list.

Corporations shouldn’t be able to stop communities from making their own decisions. Go to muninetworks.org to learn more about why the fight for municipal broadband is so important.