| said by fiber_man:They can build out the fiber network in the city but who do they connect to so that they can reach the rest of the world? I am sure that connection alone will cost the taxpayers a few thousand or more dollars per month. They'll purchase a T-3, just like any other ISP does, and/or, if they decide to sell wholesale access to the network to ISP's, then those companies will handle the outbound connections.
But setting that aside for a minute, building a citywide intranet has huge possibilities. They can offer online city services to anyone, they can streamline networking of municipal departments, they can bill for their electricity services using network-connected meters, and, if the University of Louisiana at Lafayette joins in, they can offer distance ed and access to anything ULL wants to make available.
And just to comment on those upset that the city is competing with private industry, where is it written that private industry has a God-given right to make a profit? That may be a philosophical idea, but it is not etched in stone, nor is it anywhere in the Constitution. The citizens of Lafayette voted for this plan, and it is their business and theirs alone.
Oh, and one other thing. Government competes with business all the time. Some examples:
Water service vs. bottled water
Public transit vs. taxicabs
Public schools and colleges vs. private ones
Police vs. private security companies
City sanitation vs. private trash haulers
Public radio and TV vs. commercial stations
The postal service vs. UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc. |
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