We’ve talked a lot about the telephone companies’ tactic of doggedly forcing changes in rules they don’t like in order to further their agendas. Now AT&T and Verizon have some company in the “rules-don’t-really-apply-to-us” camp. At a recent conference, Greg Meffert, the chief technical officer and deputy mayor of New Orleans, essentially claimed his city is above the law. To operate its wireless municipal network, New Orleans is defying Louisiana’s Fair Competition Act, which places a cap on data speeds at 128kbps. He’s apparently proud of that. “We’re the city. What happens if we break the law? We’re just going to do it,” Meffert boasted. There’s no denying that residents of the New Orleans area have been through hell the last six months and still struggle with basic necessities of life we just take for granted. But other service providers in New Orleans—Cox Communications included—have been through the storm, too, and have worked tirelessly following the hurricane and flooding to restore communications and entertainment services—without breaking the law. Competition is good for consumers when service providers play by the rules and on a fair, level playing field, and that applies equally to cable companies, RBOCs and cities that choose to build their own muni networks, including New Orleans.