Reviews:
 ·Charter
| Most small towns do this for the sole purpose.. of getting the major cable/DSL companies to expand/upgrade service so they don't have to do it themselves.
And it works most the time, I remember reading this small town of less that 3000 people was going to put in own wireless ISP because they could not get a cable comany only a few miles away to provide cable, so after they made known there intentions the cable company offered to give everyone cable modem access within a year.
Saved the town a million bucks or so  |
| Most, maybe, but not all. Some townships are doing this just to be free of what they perceive are high broadband rates. If they can afford to deploy their own infrastructure and operate it at a non-loss then power to them.
Unfortunately, I have seen not-so-small townships try exactly this and get themselves over their heads. In the end, several of these have run well into the red with a condition they cannot even begin to operate. I know of one locally that did this even when both cableco and telco operators were present with modern broadband well before the township got the proverbial hair up their butts.
But, the is an underlying concern that most residents probably should be addressing if not already haven done so: should the township's entire population pay for such a service when only a portion is wanting the service? While you and I may be wanting such a favorable offering, if it can be offered, I know of a lot of people contrary to my position. |
| Many of these models are being financed in many different ways. The "entire population" is not paying for the service in most muni utility service ventures. Most are paid for through user fees. Some cities are considering private financing or revenue bonds. Some, a blend of financing methods.
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