Muni Fiber and Politics

Owen DeLong owen at delong.com
Tue Jul 22 19:55:36 UTC 2014


On Jul 22, 2014, at 08:27 , Aaron <aaron at wholesaleinternet.net> wrote:

> So let me throw out a purely hypothetical scenario to the collective:
> 
> What do you think the consequences to a municipality would be if they laid fiber to every house in the city and gave away internet access for free?  Not the WiFi builds we have today but FTTH at gigabit speeds for free?

I think the project would be enjoined before it could get permitted. I don't think they'd be allowed to move a single backhoe in support of the project.

> Do you think the LECs would come unglued?

Definition: LEC -- Local Exchange Carrier -- A law firm masquerading as a communications company.

Yeah, I think they'd come unglued and wallpaper every courthouse between city hall and the state capital until such a project was not only illegal, but any city that considered such a notion faced huge fines for even thinking about it.

That doesn't mean I think it's a bad idea, just what I think would actually happen.

Owen

> 
> Aaron
> 
> 
> On 7/21/2014 8:33 PM, Miles Fidelman wrote:
>> I've seen various communities attempt to hand out free wifi - usually in limited areas, but in some cases community-wide (Brookline, MA comes to mind).  The limited ones (e.g., in tourist hotspots) have been city funded, or donated.  The community-wide ones, that I've seen, have been public-private partnerships - the City provides space on light poles and such - the private firm provides limited access, in hopes of selling expanded service.  I haven't seen it work successfully - 4G cell service beats the heck out of WiFi as a metropolitan area service.
>> 
>> When it comes to municipal fiber and triple-play projects, I've generally seen them capitalized with revenue bonds -- hence, a need for revenue to pay of the financing.  Lower cost than commercial services because municipal bonds are low-interest, long-term, and they operate on a cost-recovery basis.
>> 
>> Miles Fidelman
>> 
>> Aaron wrote:
>>> Do you have an example of a municipality that gives free internet access to it's residents?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 7/21/2014 2:26 PM, Matthew Kaufman wrote:
>>>> I think the difference is when the municipality starts throwing in free or highly subsidized layer 3 connectivity "free with every layer 1 connection"
>>>> 
>>>> Matthew Kaufman
>>>> 
>>>> (Sent from my iPhone)
>>>> 
>>>>> On Jul 21, 2014, at 12:08 PM, Blake Dunlap <ikiris at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> My power is pretty much always on, my water is pretty much always on
>>>>> and safe, my sewer system works, etc etc...
>>>>> 
>>>>> Why is layer 1 internet magically different from every other utility?
>>>>> 
>>>>> -Blake
>>>>> 
>>>>>> On Mon, Jul 21, 2014 at 1:38 PM, William Herrin <bill at herrin.us> wrote:
>>>>>>> On Mon, Jul 21, 2014 at 10:20 AM, Jay Ashworth <jra at baylink.com> wrote:
>>>>>>> Over the last decade, 19 states have made it illegal for municipalities
>>>>>>> to own fiber networks
>>>>>> Hi Jay,
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Everything government does, it does badly. Without exception. There
>>>>>> are many things government does better than any private organization
>>>>>> is likely to sustain, but even those things it does slowly and at an
>>>>>> exorbitant price.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Muni fiber is a competition killer. You can't beat city hall; once
>>>>>> built it's not practical to compete, even with better service, so
>>>>>> residents are stuck with only the overpriced (either directly or via
>>>>>> taxes), usually underpowered and always one-size-fits-all network
>>>>>> access which results. As an ISP I watched something similar happen in
>>>>>> Altoona PA a decade and a half ago. It was a travesty.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> The only exception I see to this would be if localities were
>>>>>> constrained to providing point to point and point to multipoint
>>>>>> communications infrastructure within the locality on a reasonable and
>>>>>> non-discriminatory basis. The competition that would foster on the
>>>>>> services side might outweigh the damage on the infrastructure side.
>>>>>> Like public roads facilitate efficient transportation and freight
>>>>>> despite the cost and potholes, though that's an imperfect simile.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Regards,
>>>>>> Bill Herrin
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> -- 
>>>>>> William Herrin ................ herrin at dirtside.com bill at herrin.us
>>>>>> Owner, Dirtside Systems ......... Web: <http://www.dirtside.com/>
>>>>>> Can I solve your unusual networking challenges?
>>> 
>> 
>> 
> 
> -- 
> ================================================================
> Aaron Wendel
> Chief Technical Officer
> Wholesale Internet, Inc. (AS 32097)
> (816)550-9030
> http://www.wholesaleinternet.com
> ================================================================




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