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If the municipality owns the poles and the power company this is comparatively easier. In places that own both, like Traverse City in Michigan, Chattanooga TN,
by zrail 3y ago
If the municipality owns the poles and the power company this is comparatively easier. In places that own both, like Traverse City in Michigan, Chattanooga TN, or Longmont CO, this model can be incredibly effective. The problem, at least in my part of the world (Michigan) is that most municipalities do not own the poles or the power company. The power company is instead a large publicly traded corporation, albeit with strong regulation.
Adding regulation to force power companies to run dark fiber on new runs only addresses part of the problem. You still have to deal with the millions of miles/kms of installed grid that sees proactive maintenance _maybe_ once a decade.
Not to mention the state laws in dozens of states that place onerous rules on municipalities installing their own broadband service, or even outright forbid the practice entirely. These laws are often the result of ILECs lobbying state governments or using their lobbying groups to directly write "model legislation" that state governments subsequently adopt.
- arrosenberg 3y agoRarely does a situation so desperately cry out for the use of eminent domain.
- chasd00 3y agoisn't "pole ownership" and access to those poles what doomed google fiber? In some cases it's easy to run fiber yourself in other cases it's completely impossible.
- mfer 3y agoI would suspect access more than ownership. Lots of places legally limit access and Internet companies are excluded.
- gs17 3y agoIn some places they seem to be working around it. Here in Nashville they cut into every street/alley to run fiber (it isn't available at my apartment, but they did run it down our street, which is not a main street at all).
- mfer 3y agoIn Michigan only telecommunications companies, power companies, cable companies, and municipalities can be on the poles. So, an Internet only company is excluded. Michigan also has one of the most unique laws here. A municipality needs to put out an RFP to build the broadband network. If it gets three or more qualified bids it cannot proceed.
- jshier 3y agoSorry, but if it gets more bids it can't proceed? What?
- zrail 3y agoYep. It's messed up.
- ForkMeOnTinder 3y agoI'd love to hear the rationalization for this one
- rootusrootus 3y agoThe wording could be more clear. Written another way: "a public entity may provide telecommunication services within its boundaries after issuing a request for competitive sealed bids to provide telecommunication services and receiving less than 3 qualified bids from private providers." If you get enough bids, the assumption is that the price is competitive and therefore it's cheaper to use a private company and not have the gov't itself do the infrastructure work.
- sokoloff 3y agoHow is internet not a subset of telecommunications?
- beauzero 3y agoAdd Carroll County, GA to this list. Carroll EMC which covers three counties on the border of Georgia and Alabama overlapping I-20 (all three counties Carroll, Haralson, and Heard) are getting "on pole" fiber provided by the electric company.