Last year, the big Internet providers pushed legislation that allowed them to serve only the most profitable areas, leaving many poor and rural areas with low-quality service or no service at all. Now they want to pass legislation barring local governments from serving the areas where private providers won't.

It's like breaking up with your boyfriend or girlfriend and telling them they can't date anyone else.

And this is really important. It's not about making sure people have access to all 10,000 TV channels; it's about making sure people have access to high-speed internet, which is fast turning into the foundation of the 21st Century economy. We should be exploring every avenue possible to get all North Carolinians online, yet the big Internet providers are trying keep a stranglehold on their monopolistic market.