ATLANTA — People living in rural Georgia are weary of unreliable internet, indefinite outages and speeds that aren’t as fast as advertised, lawmakers say.

“The biggest complaint I get is, ‘I’m paying for this service, and I’m just not getting that service,’” said Rep. Kevin Tanner, R-Dawsonville. “And they feel like there’s no one to call.”

Complaints about broadband are among the most frequent to the state Public Service Commission, which doesn’t even regulate the service, said Commission Chairman Chuck Eaton.

Most tend to come from north Georgia, he said, including areas that he considers only “semi-rural.” And many relate to speeds slowed because of overwhelmed networks.

These concerns are now driving lawmakers to study ways to nudge internet providers to improve service, and to entice competition among internet providers in areas of the state without it or that don’t have service at all.

“If these companies who have a monopoly today don’t provide good customer service, then in the future those customers are going to remember that when they do have a choice,” Tanner said.

A legislative committee looking into the topic convened for the first time Wednesday, kicking off a series of meetings around the state that are meant to elicit ideas on how to boost broadband service in Georgia. Dates for future meetings have not been announced.

Already, there’s no shortage of opinions.

Tanner said he wants legislators to look at consequences for companies that fail to deliver promised service, especially in areas like his that only have one provider.

Kelly McCutchen, president of the conservative Georgia Public Policy Foundation, urged lawmakers to consider rolling back taxes, such as a sales tax on telecommunications network equipment.

“In economics, one principle is if you tax something, you get less of it,” he told lawmakers.

Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, who is co-chairman of the study committee, said afterward that he wants to explore such incentives and whether the state can afford them. As of Wednesday, it was unclear how much that sales tax generated.

Something needs to be done to ensure that rural Georgia doesn’t fall further behind economically, Gooch said.

“I don’t want to regulate the internet — that’s not the intention of the committee — but we do want to look at what other states have done to promote the growth of their industries,” he said.

As director of Lumpkin County’s development authority, Gooch said he sees firsthand the effect of spotty service.

Two decades ago, companies thinking of moving into an area quizzed local governments about water quality, sewer capacity and access to major roadways and rail, he said.

Internet access is now just as important.

“If they don’t have good access to broadband, they’re not going to come and bring those jobs with them,” he said.

Jill Nolin covers the Georgia Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach her at jnolin@cnhi.com.