U.S. Broadband Cannot Be Fixed Until You Tackle Corruption → Wrong Conclusion

quote:

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U.S. Broadband Cannot Be Fixed Until You Tackle Corruption Get Off Your Asses, Raise Some Private Capital, And Build It Yourself!

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If more people who whined about broadband were willing to do this, then there would be more choices.

How very true. Its unfortunate we have so many more whiners than actual business savvy (dare I say visionary??) individuals. Everyone is looking for a handout these days, and they are expecting the government to regulate things "until they are fixed". Thats clearly an oxymoron, so lets instead encourage people to go out and do things themselves for a change.

In Utopia (deliberate reference), this would work great. Unfortunately, in the real world, multi-billion dollar corporations do anything they can, virtually unopposed and uncontrolled if not actually assisted by government, to prevent or destroy any such development.

Okay, you go first. Go out and try to raise the capital to build a new network to compete in the last mile with the big telecom players. More likely than not, most investors would laugh at you because you are more likely to fail than succeed competing against the entrenched players in the market now. And then, let's say you get the money, lets see if you can survive the tactics of the existing telecom providers to keep you from building and still have money left to build a network. And then, if you have any money left, let's see how well you are doing after you get all of the required permits and RoW access. If you get beyond this point, I'll be amazed.

The truth, what you advocate is far and away much easier to say than to ever actually execute. That is a fact.

The problem is still corruption, especially in local authorities- so, you want to use the Town of Somewhere's right-of-ways for a broadband internet service? Alright, we'll take a 30% franchise fee, and you have to fund our town's rebuilding of our city hall, and give free internet and TV to all public buildings... things like that will take a bite out of any potential profits (assuming you had a profitable business plan) and will scare away any investors (assuming you can find some in the current credit climate)...

And I haven't even talked about the troubles that may be held with the incumbents... blocking you from telco-owned poles? Alright, bury the lines- oops, more $$$, lost another funding source... running an expensive public campaign through astroturf organizations? Alright, run your own counter-campaign- crap, more money gone...

The best entities to deploy high-speed FTTH broadband are the incumbent corporations, who have pre-existing right-of-way access, vast capital resources, and years of experience. There should be a system in place to give those providers incentives to deploy FTTH, and those incentives should not be given until after deployment actually happens to avoid another Bell of PA mess.

Why?

I moved to where they have broadband.

Okay, then let me generalize that... For people who advocate the "build your own network with private investment money to take on the big boys" schtick, I say that they should put their money where their mouth is and prove that it will work.