ColdFiltered
join:2005-01-25
Atlanta, GA | Striving to be mre like Caly?
Are Texas politicians trying to be more like those crazy idiot politicians in California? |
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SSX4life
Premium
join:2004-02-13
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| Good job eff!
I really am a proud supporter of the EFF. I think that with all of their hard work they continue to accomplish, everyone else should help out a bit and donate to their cause! I currently have a bumper sticker on my car as well  If you need any more info go to their website at »www.eff.org .
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New PC Setup
Asus A8V rev 2.0
AMD Athlon 64 socket 939 3200+ 90nm
Radeon 9800 Pro
2 X 36.5 gig Western Digital Raptors in Raid - 0
1 gig OCZ 3500 memory
Anime-4ever.org |
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
1 edit | reply to ColdFiltered
Re: Striving to be mre like Caly?
said by ColdFiltered  :Are Texas politicians trying to be more like those crazy idiot politicians in California? Uh, we here in California *DO* have a s***load of free Wi-Fi! ALOT of our Public Libraries also have free access via Wi-Fi.
»www.wififreespot.com/ca.html
BTW, it's Cali not Caly |
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sivran
Long Live The Suite
Premium
join:2003-09-15
Arlington, TX
clubs:
·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to ColdFiltered
I think some of the fruits and nuts fled the Governator's reign, and came here to try to turn Texas into another land of fruits and nuts.
Good thing we don't like fruits here. But nuts? We got plenty of 'em. |
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vpoko
Premium
join:2003-07-03
Jamaica Plain, MA | reply to SSX4life
Re: Good job eff!
I agree, we should all be greatful for organizations like the EFF. EPIC is another non-profit fighting the good fight (www.epic.org). |
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rideboarder
welcome to the social
Premium
join:2003-07-28
Snohomish, WA
clubs:
| reply to dadkins
Re: Striving to be mre like Caly?
said by dadkins : said by ColdFiltered :Are Texas politicians trying to be more like those crazy idiot politicians in California? Uh, we here in California *DO* have a s***load of free Wi-Fi! ALOT of our Public Libraries also have free access via Wi-Fi. » www.wififreespot.com/ca.htmlBTW, it's Cali not Caly I was gonna say, it's like the complete opposite of california. |
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cevans59
Premium
join:2003-08-14
Smithton, IL
| Libraries
Among the things it would ban munis from providing;
(3) any telecommunications or information service, without regard to the technology platform used to provide the service.
I always thought of the public library as a information service.
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Proud parent of a twelve year old geek. How do you think your honor student got those grades?? |
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
| reply to sivran
Re: Striving to be mre like Caly?
Looks like some of these "fruits and nuts" are actuallty fighting *FOR* the citizens of Texas.
Electronic Frontier Foundation
454 Shotwell Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Phone: 415/436-9333 Fax: 415/436-9993
Website: »www.eff.org / Email: information@eff.org
The San Francisco Bay Area, what a GREAT place to live!  |
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jmason
join:2000-04-29
Amsterdam
 ·UPC Netherlands
| reply to ColdFiltered
I'm not sure I follow. CA has no prohibition on muni broadband. In fact, for years we've had free hotspots in many public facilities in CA like libraries and courthouses. What does a Texas bill which prohibits muni broadband have anything to do with California, which encourages it? |
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ricep5
Premium
join:2000-08-07
Jacksonville, FL
·AT&T Southeast
 ·AT&T CallVantage
·VoicePulse
·Comcast Formerly ..
| Fear of Muni's
It's pretty simple,
Telecom fears munis because they can get funding (through tax free bonds) cheaper than they can. That usually translates to lower pricing, pricing that they can only match by reducing shareholder value (through reduced dividends) and by extension, reduced executive bonuses. (reduced profits equals reduced stock value which equals reduced bonuses)
Muni's need to get smarter and fund only the infrastructure, but pay the Telecom's to manage it for them. Then they get a cut (although less) of the action and make less noise about being left out. |
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woody7
Premium
join:2000-10-13
Torrance, CA
·EarthLink
·DSL EXTREME
| "Telecom fears munis because they can get funding (through tax free bonds) cheaper than they can. That usually translates to lower pricing, pricing that they can only match by reducing shareholder value (through reduced dividends) and by extension, reduced executive bonuses. (reduced profits equals reduced stock value which equals reduced bonuses)"
It's not just fears about cheaper funding, its about how stupid the Telecoms would look when the Munis get done what they said couldn't be done, or it was too expensive, and so on. The Munis would expose them to the people for what they really are....greedy ba$tards....who want no competition at any cost...
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BlooMe |
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JPCass
join:2001-01-23
Denver, CO
| Rhetoric vs. Reality
It's interesting that Texas has a reputation for minimal regulation - but apparently that stops when Big Business actually wants government to wield a heavy hand.
There are points to be made that municipal broadband potentially could provide unfair, public-subsidized competition to commercial services, and that local governments could end up wasting taxpayer money because they're operating in an area where they may not have the expertise necessary. On the other hand, I have yet to see an even-handed compromise offered, to allow municipalities to foster broadband development when they feel commercial services are not meeting local needs or opportunities.
Isn't this something like the situation in the early days of POTS, where it took regulatory involvement to get Ma Bell to extend service to cover all but the most far-flung areas? |
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footballdude
Premium
join:2002-08-13
Imperial, MO
| reply to dadkins
Re: Striving to be mre like Caly?
said by dadkins : BTW, it's Cali not Caly Here in the midwest, we spell it C R A Z Y.  |
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA | I wouldn't expect it any other way. 
BTW, Thanks! |
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Skippy25
join:2000-09-13
Hazelwood, MO
| reply to JPCass
Re: Rhetoric vs. Reality
Regulation could be a method, but I think regulation would have a lot less impact then actual competition. When they are regulated, they do the very minimum required and usually try to skirt that. For anything to change more regulation must be introduced, fought in court, and then skirted as much as possible.
When TRUE competition is there they deliver based on consumer demands as the the consumer's pocket book will decide. Not some "bought" politicians who are more concerned with their position then the people that put them there.
In a nutshell I personally feel you can regulate the hell out of anything, but not until there is true competition for the consumer's dollar will progress be made. You can see this all over the nation with telcom and cable companies. Any area that does not have competition sees less progress and higher prices. Introduce some competition, regardless of how, and once the incumbents are done whining and fighting it in court, the consumers benefit and not a moment sooner. |
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N Yazdi
join:2004-04-19
Omaha, NE | what do you expect....
from the same state that gave us George W Bush? |
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tapeloop
1959. I try to kick the ball. I miss.
Premium
join:2004-06-27
Airstrip One
| reply to Skippy25
Re: Rhetoric vs. Reality
said by Skippy25 :In a nutshell I personally feel you can regulate the hell out of anything, but not until there is true competition for the consumer's dollar will progress be made. You can see this all over the nation with telcom and cable companies. Any area that does not have competition sees less progress and higher prices. Introduce some competition, regardless of how, and once the incumbents are done whining and fighting it in court, the consumers benefit and not a moment sooner. At the same time though, if you let corporations do as they will with too little regulation, they'll run amok and roughshod over the consumer, since their raison d'etre is to make money and nothing more. Think about what happened with Enron and Dynegy.
While it sounds good, zealous deregulation is not the cure-all some of us are hoping for. If the telcos are not serving the communities' needs, then government should step in and do so. The only consent the government should require is that of the governed. Corporations don't get to write laws. |
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oliphant
I Have 8 Boobies
Premium
join:2004-11-26
Corona, CA
| Deploy or get the hell outta the way...
If telcos want less regulation, then they should be prepared for competition, even if it's state sponsored competition. Some would claim this unfair but the likes of DHL, Fedex and UPS don't seem to have much trouble competing with the USPS and private schools and universities don't seem to have much trouble competing with public schools and universities.
So while I would defend the telco's right to deploy however they want...they better be ready to deploy or get out the way.
And to those politicians...I still see it strange how a corporation can give a politican money in exchange for favors and it's a contribution but if I do it it's a bribe.
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Don't get it, demand it! The Anime Network www.theanimenetwork.com |
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oliphant
I Have 8 Boobies
Premium
join:2004-11-26
Corona, CA
| reply to ColdFiltered
Re: Striving to be mre like Caly?
Man, it'll be a billion years before Texas is as screwed up as Cali is at the hands of our worthless corrupt Sacramento hacks.
When Texas starts talking $800 yearly vehicle license fees, .50 a gallon gas tax increases, in-state tuition for illegals, 9% sales tax, 40% spending increases, per mile driving taxes and the like...then you'll start being like Cali.
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Don't get it, demand it! The Anime Network www.theanimenetwork.com |
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JPCass
join:2001-01-23
Denver, CO
| reply to Skippy25
Re: Rhetoric vs. Reality
said by Skippy25 :Regulation could be a method, but I think regulation would have a lot less impact then actual competition. When they are regulated, they do the very minimum required and usually try to skirt that. For anything to change more regulation must be introduced, fought in court, and then skirted as much as possible. At this point in time, it's easy to identify the problems with regulation, and not see as clearly what was beneficial about the decades of public utilities regulation in the 20th century. Telephony is a good example of certain things, particularly how regulators worked with the Bells to extend service to less profitable areas and populations, which would have remained unwired or unserved in a purely competitive market.
The problem that sometimes occurs with competition in public utilities and similar services, is that companies will ignore markets that they view as marginal, when there is a public interest in having those areas served. We see that already, with companies working to bring second or third generation broadband services to what they perceive as the most lucrative markets - or even simply the markets that appear most glamorous to their executives and investors - while many areas still have nothing more than dial-up.
What the topic of this discussion points to, is that companies are so focused on protecting their perceived competitive advantages at all costs, that they will even seek to prevent areas from obtaining broadband service. So how do public and corporate interests get balanced, without some regulatory involvement? |
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