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Municipal internet is something we should all get behind because the internet is no longer a luxury, or a tool, it's an essential service. Imagine not having th
by Simulacra 6y ago
Municipal internet is something we should all get behind because the internet is no longer a luxury, or a tool, it's an essential service. Imagine not having the internet in the next pandemic.
- bhupy 6y agoI mean, I don't know that the essentialness of internet is a strong enough argument, there are so many things that are essential that we don't municipally provide — food, clothing, shelter, etc. The strongest argument for municipal internet is more that, like roads, it lends itself to natural monopolies.
- preinheimer 6y agoSo in my mind, the municipality owning the fiber, and terminating it somewhere, then allowing whatever ISP wants to plug in to service customers seems ideal. This lets us get away from a single incumbent owning the last mile, while avoiding the municipality becoming a cable company/telecom/internet provider etc. What parts of the municipality being more involved appeal to you?
- celebrant 6y agoFood is also essential. Do we have municipal farms?
- colejohnson66 6y agoKindof. We provide massive subsidies to farmers. Then the farmers give us food. But when we provide massive subsidies to ISPs, they don’t invest; They just spend it on executive bonuses and stock buybacks.