4 ms·

Ah yes, that would be why three national telcos sued my local electric utility when they started exploring the idea of doing a city-wide public access fiber net

by olefoo 14y ago

Ah yes, that would be why three national telcos sued my local electric utility when they started exploring the idea of doing a city-wide public access fiber network where any number of competing ISPs would provide transit and support but the physical cable plant would be owned by the municipality. So now ten-years later it's the same cable/telco duopoly as it is everywhere else in the US; speeds suck and are asymmetric, and we have these "bandwidth transfer caps", which wouldn't exist if the playing field were level. It's not hyperbole, if anything I'm understating the damage that has been done to the public to feed entrenched private interests.

subway 14y ago
I've seen this a few times -- municipality wants to offer high speed internet, or even just a local fiber network without ip transit, and the telcos start suing. It makes me curious what would happen if a private non-profit were formed to provide the the cable plant instead of the municipality. I know of a number of local DSL providers that provide ip transit over PPPoE and ATM DSL connections, so I can't help but think they would jump at the opportunity to offer services on such a network.
- wtallis 14y ago
  "It makes me curious what would happen if a private non-profit were formed to provide the the cable plant instead of the municipality." There would still be lawsuits, this time about how a non-profit is anti-competitive because they don't have the expense of trying to make a profit, so they undercut anyone who does try to make a profit.
joelhaus 14y ago
This is certainly a problem and you are correct that it is hampering economic growth. The New America Foundation, where this report originated, does some great work on promoting high speed broadband access at affordable prices. They also have an excellent YouTube channel where you can watch some presentations related to their efforts in this area. To the GP post, most people will not recognize the need for faster access until you provide it to them. Imagine a town with only dirt road horse and buggies. Now imagine someone builds a highway on-ramp in the town. You can be certain that these individuals are now far more likely to purchase automobiles. [Shameless plug] This is a pet issue of mine, so to spare HN from being inundated with similar articles, I post them to: reddit.com/r/bandwidth.
guard-of-terra 14y ago
Sued for what?
- katbyte 14y ago
  Not sure about what the parent poster's town was sued for but a quick Google shows this: http://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2008/07/telco-wont-install-fiber-sues-to-keep-city-from-doing-it/ http://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2008/07/telco-wont-inst... that resulted in http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2009/10/want-50mbps-internet-in-your-town-threaten-to-roll-out-your-own/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2009/10/want-50mbps-inter...

by olefoo 14y ago

subway 14y ago

I've seen this a few times -- municipality wants to offer high speed internet, or even just a local fiber network without ip transit, and the telcos start suing. It makes me curious what would happen if a private non-profit were formed to provide the the cable plant instead of the municipality. I know of a number of local DSL providers that provide ip transit over PPPoE and ATM DSL connections, so I can't help but think they would jump at the opportunity to offer services on such a network.

wtallis 14y ago
"It makes me curious what would happen if a private non-profit were formed to provide the the cable plant instead of the municipality." There would still be lawsuits, this time about how a non-profit is anti-competitive because they don't have the expense of trying to make a profit, so they undercut anyone who does try to make a profit.

joelhaus 14y ago

This is certainly a problem and you are correct that it is hampering economic growth. The New America Foundation, where this report originated, does some great work on promoting high speed broadband access at affordable prices. They also have an excellent YouTube channel where you can watch some presentations related to their efforts in this area. To the GP post, most people will not recognize the need for faster access until you provide it to them. Imagine a town with only dirt road horse and buggies. Now imagine someone builds a highway on-ramp in the town. You can be certain that these individuals are now far more likely to purchase automobiles. [Shameless plug] This is a pet issue of mine, so to spare HN from being inundated with similar articles, I post them to: reddit.com/r/bandwidth.

guard-of-terra 14y ago

Sued for what?

katbyte 14y ago
Not sure about what the parent poster's town was sued for but a quick Google shows this: http://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2008/07/telco-wont-install-fiber-sues-to-keep-city-from-doing-it/ http://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2008/07/telco-wont-inst... that resulted in http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2009/10/want-50mbps-internet-in-your-town-threaten-to-roll-out-your-own/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2009/10/want-50mbps-inter...