needforspeed59
Cruise Ship Just Passing Through
join:2001-05-02
Glendale, AZ | IMHO: BS
I think it is total BS that governments can compete against private enterprise no matter what the good intentions are. What's next: City of Lafayette gasoline stations? Grocery stores?
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Great success! High five! |
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BillRoland
Premium
join:2001-01-21
Ocala, FL
clubs:
 ·Cox HSI
|  said by needforspeed59  :I think it is total BS that governments can compete against private enterprise no matter what the good intentions are. What's next: City of Lafayette gasoline stations? Grocery stores? Well said.
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"Don't steal. The government hates competition." |
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Nightshade
Beware the Blue Rabbit
Premium
join:2002-05-26
Salem, OR
edit:
March 28th, @05:30PM
| reply to needforspeed59
I would totally agree but Lafayette is a unique case. The problem is that Bellsouth was not even going to put in any broadband services for the city, despite that they claim Lafayette is in their territory. So because of that Lafayette citizens said fine, where going to have our own broadband services.
If private businesses are not willing to provide services, or can't get it done, and the citizens want said services, then it is within their rights to do it on their own with the help of government if they so desire. But at the same time the government should only be used as a last resort.
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True Happiness Must Come From Within |
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jdmatl
join:2000-04-27
Deerfield Beach, FL
| reply to needforspeed59
said by needforspeed59 :I think it is total BS that governments can compete against private enterprise no matter what the good intentions are. What's next: City of Lafayette gasoline stations? Grocery stores? Have you been following this story? Bellsouth and Cox had been promising for years to do this and did not. If private enterprise can't get it done, the more power to the local city govt to take over. I look at Bellsouth/Cox as "big govt" anyway. Both are monopolies.
After all the city govt is run by the local people not the fed govt. |
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Rob
Veni, vidi, vici
Premium
join:2001-08-25
Kendall, FL
·Comcast
 ·AT&T Southeast
| reply to needforspeed59
said by needforspeed59 :I think it is total BS that governments can compete against private enterprise no matter what the good intentions are. What's next: City of Lafayette gasoline stations? Grocery stores? I don't. If private enterprises cherry pick markets, then local governments representing the citizens, should have the right to build a business in markets that private enterprises ignored. |
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gatorkram
Spelling and Grammer impared
Premium
join:2002-07-22
Winterville, NC
clubs:
·Suddenlink
 ·Cirtex Hosting
 ·SUNROCKET
| reply to needforspeed59
said by needforspeed59 :I think it is total BS that governments can compete against private enterprise no matter what the good intentions are. What's next: City of Lafayette gasoline stations? Grocery stores? I am pretty sure, the PEOPLE voted this into being. Not just some random crazy thing they decided to do.
Maybe gas stations and grocery stores would be a good idea.
Let the people VOTE!
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Give me bandwidth or give me death!
»/testhistory/661871/4f240 |
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Nintendo
join:2007-03-17
| reply to jdmatl
said by jdmatl :said by needforspeed59 :I think it is total BS that governments can compete against private enterprise no matter what the good intentions are. What's next: City of Lafayette gasoline stations? Grocery stores? Have you been following this story? Bellsouth and Cox had been promising for years to do this and did not. If private enterprise can't get it done, the more power to the local city govt to take over. I look at Bellsouth/Cox as "big govt" anyway. Both are monopolies. After all the city govt is run by the local people not the fed govt. Well put. Lafayette is a stone's throw away from here and people who are not from this area have no idea whats going on here. Im happy for Lafayette. |
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adisor19
join:2004-10-11
·Videotron
·Look Communications
| reply to needforspeed59
HAHHAHA spoken like a true corporation sock-puppet !
I find it very normal that if the incumbents are a***** and won't bother to install fiber in the city, that the city can take matter into their own hands. Too bad some of you would rather keep the status quo where your lifes are ruled by big evil money driven corporations instead of taking matter into your own hands. A little socialism won't hurt you ! You should try it one day.
Adi |
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batageek
Slave To The Duopoly
Premium
join:2003-01-25
Batavia, IL
| reply to gatorkram
Yep
»gigaom.com/2005/07/16/lafayette-···destiny/
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»www.tricitybroadband.com |
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espaeth
Misanthrope
Premium
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN | reply to adisor19
At least with the big greedy evil corporations the payments are on an opt-in basis. For the 38% of the people who voted no, they still are legally required to fund the development of that infrastructure with their tax dollars. |
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r81984
Premium
join:2001-11-14
West Lafayette, IN
·Insight Communicat..
·AT&T Midwest
edit:
March 28th, @06:21PM
| said by espaeth :At least with the big greedy evil corporations the payments are on an opt-in basis. For the 38% of the people who voted no, they still are legally required to fund the development of that infrastructure with their tax dollars. So I guess they should stop building roads because it is not fair to the many people that do not have cars.
Transportation is essential for an economy to prosper.
Data transportation is just as important as physical transportation.
Those that do not use the internet will still benefit from it indirectly.
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»www.ryanoneill.us |
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T1 Rocky
join:2002-11-15
Dallas, TX
 ·Time Warner Telecom
·ygnitionnet
·Comcast
| reply to Nintendo
I'm happy for Lafayette too and hopefully this will establish precedent and allow other cities to do this. As I interpreted this story, the telcos did not build out to the city and then blocked the city from building out their own fiber network! So is the city of Lafayette suppose to sit back and not be able to attract any technology companies until the telcos find it to be economically feasible?
It was my understandiung that in 1996, the governtment levied the taxes to build out a fiber network nationwide by 2004. The telcos ponied up and said, "we already have the people in place across the country to build out the fiber network so why don't you give us the money and we will do it for you?" The government gave the telcos the literally billions of dollars which the telcos then used to invest in lobbying which allowed them to restore their monopoly, attack vertical markets and launch an advertising campaign that said America doesn't need fiber, we need DSL on the good old already in place copper phone network!
And now a city tries to build out their own fiber network and the telcos fight them? Come on! If the government had built out the "dumb pipes" that the Telecom Act of 1996 was suppose to build then we'd all be reading this on 90 Mbps and arguing about which ISP actually gives you 90 Mbps (ISP's remember them?) But instead they gave it to the telcos who are now literally fighting with cities to stop technological development.
I wonder how many high tech companies are in Lafayette? Once this network is in place, I bet they start attracting them. |
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Karl
News Guy
join:2000-03-02 | reply to r81984
Stoopid fire dapartmentz!1 |
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cajun4x4
join:2000-10-02
Baytown, TX
edit:
March 28th, @06:40PM
| reply to r81984
I guess you haven't seen the roads in Lafayette then. What a freaking cluster. I hate driving through that place during rush hour. If you ask me it's worse than Houston Galleria area traffic. |
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espaeth
Misanthrope
Premium
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN
·Embarq
·Comcast
| reply to r81984
said by r81984 :So I guess they should stop building roads because it is not fair to the many people that do not have cars. Roads are used by more than cars; funding comes out of property taxes (so you can get to your property) and gas taxes (ie, usage tax).
said by r81984 :Data transportation is just as important as physical transportation. Telephone service is important as well, not just for the economy but for emergency services like 911. You don't see governments building out copper PSTN plants... |
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r81984
Premium
join:2001-11-14
West Lafayette, IN
·Insight Communicat..
·AT&T Midwest
| said by espaeth :Telephone service is important as well, not just for the economy but for emergency services like 911. You don't see governments building out copper PSTN plants... Why should the government do that?
Private companies already do that.
In Lafayette the private company refused to install fiber, so the people voted for their government to do it.
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»www.ryanoneill.us |
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BillRoland
Premium
join:2001-01-21
Ocala, FL
clubs:
·Cox HSI
| reply to Karl
said by Karl :Stoopid fire dapartmentz!1 Your quote actually (ironically) makes the point that most people here need a reality check. The proper role of government is to provide basic services and infrastructure. Public safety, law enforcement, etc are proper and necessary roles. Being a broadband provider hardly qualifies in even the loosest interpretation. Folks, broadband internet access is a convenience, it is not a sewer system or electricity, or a road or a fire department. The fact that neither Cox nor AT&T wanted to build out this thing should tell us something, considering those "evil greedy" corporations only want to make money (how awful of them). The citizens are going to get stuck paying far more for this than was told to them. Like the saying goes, there's a sucker born every minute.
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"Don't steal. The government hates competition." |
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BillRoland
Premium
join:2001-01-21
Ocala, FL
clubs:
·Cox HSI
| reply to r81984
said by r81984 :Data transportation is just as important as physical transportation. That is quite possibly the most idiotic statement ever written on the internet. Tell us, please, how many cars, tractors, motherboards, washing machines, etc, has the internet ever built? How much wheat has data transmission planted, harvested, and transported to market? That's right, none.
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"Don't steal. The government hates competition." |
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Karl
News Guy
join:2000-03-02
Host:
Road Runner
PC gaming GAMES
PC gaming Tech
edit:
March 28th, @07:18PM
| reply to BillRoland
On the contrary, I think the irony is how a great number of people are perfectly happy spending billions or trillions of tax dollars on all manner of waste, fraud, war, bank bailouts and bridges to nowhere...but the mere idea of a city coming together and voting to wire themselves with broadband infrastructure makes some people fan their foreheads in feigned outrage as if the people of Lafayette just killed a puppy or something....
The people there voted. Occasionally tax dollars go toward infrastructure improvements and not Lockheed Martin missles. Get over it. |
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r81984
Premium
join:2001-11-14
West Lafayette, IN
·Insight Communicat..
·AT&T Midwest
| reply to BillRoland
You obviously are sheltered.
The internet is just as much important as all of those tangible things you speak of.
How do you think all of those things are ordered and scheduled?
Manufacturing could not be as efficient without up to date data which most of the time is over an internet connection.
Try to tell a manufacture that they cannot have internet access and see what happens.
Business is conducted over the internet, if you do not think so then you need to go back to the 1800s.
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»www.ryanoneill.us |
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