2 ms·

Why was the city able to get it at cost and private companies weren't?

by ikeboy 9y ago

Johnny555 9y ago
Because the city is a government agency while a private company is not. Conduit space is a limited resource, so the state can't afford to let every interested company piggy back on an existing project. So instead they opened it up to other government agencies who, presumably, would use the fiber to provide some services to the public. There may even be laws preventing the state from allowing private companies to share their infrastructure.
- ikeboy 9y ago
  So wouldn't everybody win if the city sold the rights to private company for say $1 million on condition they build out this network?
  - Johnny555 9y ago
    That's a much harder decision for the state to make -- the state has to evaluate business plans, determine the financial health of bidders, oversee implementation and monitor the business forever to ensure it's meeting the terms of the deal. While if they give access to local governments, the state only needs to install the fiber -- it's up to the local government to determine how to use it to best serve the public. And in this case, the local government intends to lease the infrastructure to private businesses: the city would build the infrastructure and lease capacity to private internet-service providers
  - scarface74 9y ago
    Who would you suggest? AT&T? https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/06/att-makes-the-same-promises-every-time-it-buys-a-new-company/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/06/att-m... Verizon? https://www.fiercetelecom.com/telecom/verizon-sued-by-new-york-city-over-fios-build-out-commitment-claims https://www.fiercetelecom.com/telecom/verizon-sued-by-new-yo... Comcast? https://qz.com/213995/comcast-promised-poor-americans-cheap-internet-but-most-of-them-didnt-get-it/ https://qz.com/213995/comcast-promised-poor-americans-cheap-...

2 ms·

Why was the city able to get it at cost and private companies weren't?

by ikeboy 9y ago

Why was the city able to get it at cost and private companies weren't?

Johnny555 9y ago
Because the city is a government agency while a private company is not. Conduit space is a limited resource, so the state can't afford to let every interested company piggy back on an existing project. So instead they opened it up to other government agencies who, presumably, would use the fiber to provide some services to the public. There may even be laws preventing the state from allowing private companies to share their infrastructure.
- ikeboy 9y ago
  So wouldn't everybody win if the city sold the rights to private company for say $1 million on condition they build out this network?
  - Johnny555 9y ago
    That's a much harder decision for the state to make -- the state has to evaluate business plans, determine the financial health of bidders, oversee implementation and monitor the business forever to ensure it's meeting the terms of the deal. While if they give access to local governments, the state only needs to install the fiber -- it's up to the local government to determine how to use it to best serve the public. And in this case, the local government intends to lease the infrastructure to private businesses: the city would build the infrastructure and lease capacity to private internet-service providers
  - scarface74 9y ago
    Who would you suggest? AT&T? https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/06/att-makes-the-same-promises-every-time-it-buys-a-new-company/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/06/att-m... Verizon? https://www.fiercetelecom.com/telecom/verizon-sued-by-new-york-city-over-fios-build-out-commitment-claims https://www.fiercetelecom.com/telecom/verizon-sued-by-new-yo... Comcast? https://qz.com/213995/comcast-promised-poor-americans-cheap-internet-but-most-of-them-didnt-get-it/ https://qz.com/213995/comcast-promised-poor-americans-cheap-...