Muni Fiber (was: Re: last mile, regulatory incentives, etc)

Mon Mar 26 14:42:01 UTC 2012

----- Original Message -----
> From: "joshua klubi" <joshua.klubi at gmail.com>

> But they also deserve to have or enjoy the benefits that comes with
> living in the big cities

Well, "deserve" is a strong word... but the underlying thought is my
primary reason for believing that municipal fiber is a good solution, and
I'll expand that thought one more layer:

The Public Good is not often all that cost effective; sometimes, it's a
money loser.  That's why corporations can almost always be depended on *not*
to be working in its interest, absent regulations to force them to do so,
such as the Universal Service Obligation, imposed on AT&T in one form or 
another all the way back to the Communications Act, and expanded in TCA96.

This is one of many things that seems to militate in favor of municipally
owned and operated layer 1 fiber builds -- is *is* the obligation *of a 
municipality* to operate in favor of the Public Good: it *is the Public*,
in a very real sense.

And the members of that body politic, properly informed, can make sure that
such a build will be, by direction, equally accessible to all in their area:
it will be a bond issue, and such items are generally ballot questions.

Or at least, they can try; you can't make people vote.

Cheers,
-- jra
-- 
Jay R. Ashworth                  Baylink                       jra at baylink.com
Designer                     The Things I Think                       RFC 2100
Ashworth & Associates     http://baylink.pitas.com         2000 Land Rover DII
St Petersburg FL USA      http://photo.imageinc.us             +1 727 647 1274