Ed Mahern, Indiana State Representative, District 97, Indianapolis

The seven most-recent articles on the Broadband Wireless Access World web site focus on recent events in Pennsylvania, where the state legislature, at the urging of telecommunications giant Verizon Communications, formed by the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE, in November, 2004, passed a law, House Bill 30, that was signed by Governor Ed Rendell, former mayor of Philadelphia, giving Verizon Communications the right-of-first-refusal for the construction and operation of broadband networks in cities throughout the state, effectively prohibiting all Pennsylvania cities (except Philadelphia, which was granted a waiver by Verizon) from offering free or paid access to broadband Internet services to its residents.

On January 6, 2005, a bill that would limit the rights of Indiana cities to offer such broadband Internet access to its residents was introduced into the Indiana House of Representatives. This proposed legislation is called "House Bill #1148."

One of Indiana House Bill #1148's co-authors is Indiana State Representative Ed Mahern, who represents the residents of Indiana House District 97, which "includes the downtown and near-southside of Indianapolis."

As mentioned in Representative Mahern's official online biography, linked to above, he is a 1967 graduate of Ball State University, in Indianapolis. Well-known late-night talk show host David Letterman was at that time finishing his second of four years at the same school, where, according to the Indystar.com web site's LIBRARY FACTFILES, he "studied radio and television [and] earned a B.A. in telecommunications in 1969."

Representative Mahern spoke yesterday with Broadband Wireless Access World about Indiana House Bill #1148.

You can hear the remarks of this legislation's co-author in their entirety by clicking here.