1 edit | reply to cdru
Re: Copper? what Copper? I used to think power isn't a problem, but power has been out in this area for days at a time at least once per year since I moved here 2 years ago. The most recent ice storm knocked out power for a few days up in Highland Lakes (which is a somewhat upscale lake community). I would rather be safe than sorry. Phones were still working for quite a few people.
During a power outage, heat is not a problem. Due to the high cost of heating oil, a lot of people are using wood stoves to heat their homes so they are unaffected by power outages for heating. In an emergency you can also use kerosene heaters. Besides, running a generator non-stop gets expensive if you're using propane or gasoline. Most people run them for 4-5 hours a day during an extended outage to keep the fridge cold and their pipes freezing. I'd hate to have to fire up the genny just to call 911 because my kid had a severe allergic reaction to something. I know you can use cellphones, but they have limited backup power. Many times the CO still has power but just local powerlines may be down. I'd like to have at least some assurance of service.
The ideal solution to the power problem would be a pair of power lines along with the fiber going to the home. That way you can have lifeline POTS with your fiber ONT still working.
Widespread availability is being worked on, but I am hearing 10 years and more. I also haven't really heard anything from Embarq on fiber in our area. They just stick us with DSL and due to the distance from the CO to me it's 5MBps for me only (which is why I have cable). So it might be even more, probably 15-20 years for a full fiber buildout. People can't stay with unreliable copper POTS service that long. They need to have the phones they pay for working.
As for the CLECs, I like the fact that there's competition. The telcos are using public rights of way that we pay for. They need to give open access to competitors, and the most efficient way to do that is to allow CLECs. |
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 MattAll noise, no signal.Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
kudos:12 | said by fifty nine:As for the CLECs, I like the fact that there's competition. The telcos are using public rights of way that we pay for. They need to give open access to competitors, and the most efficient way to do that is to allow CLECs. Just a quick note, the ILECs almost always pay to use the public right of way. It is almost always negotiated in the franchise agreement or with the PUC. |
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| said by Matt:said by fifty nine:As for the CLECs, I like the fact that there's competition. The telcos are using public rights of way that we pay for. They need to give open access to competitors, and the most efficient way to do that is to allow CLECs. Just a quick note, the ILECs almost always pay to use the public right of way. It is almost always negotiated in the franchise agreement or with the PUC. Regardless of whether they pay or not, it's land that landowners give them access to whether they wanted to or not. I have utility easements on my property and I can assure you that I had NO choice in the matter. |
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MattAll noise, no signal.Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
kudos:12 | said by fifty nine:said by Matt:said by fifty nine:As for the CLECs, I like the fact that there's competition. The telcos are using public rights of way that we pay for. They need to give open access to competitors, and the most efficient way to do that is to allow CLECs. Just a quick note, the ILECs almost always pay to use the public right of way. It is almost always negotiated in the franchise agreement or with the PUC. Regardless of whether they pay or not, it's land that landowners give them access to whether they wanted to or not. I have utility easements on my property and I can assure you that I had NO choice in the matter. Take that up with your city. It's not just the telephone/cable companies who use it. It can be used for water, gas, sidewalk, basically whatever the easement allows. |
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| said by Matt:Take that up with your city. It's not just the telephone/cable companies who use it. It can be used for water, gas, sidewalk, basically whatever the easement allows. Sure. Like that's real effective. They wanted to run a big 500kv powerline through here and basically they told us if we didn't cooperate they'd go to the state PUC and they'd seize our land from us forcibly. The powerline essentially exports power to big cities like NYC and Newark. We don't see much benefit here, and property values would quickly go down if there's a big powerline in your back yard.
Ever heard the saying, "you can't fight city hall?"
All I want is some choice in providers in exchange for the moneymaking rights of way that monopoly telcos are given.
In addition they've been collecting USF and lots of other taxes and fees for years. All we want is a little return on our investment and not to be given a "take it or leave it" attitude by monopoly telcos.
Is that really a bad thing to ask for?
By the way the only utilities that swing by here are electric, phone and cable. Water is from wells and no gas lines, at least none that serve us anyway. They're all headed to the bigger towns and cities. |
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