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 alchav
join:2002-05-17
Palm Desert, CA | Did anyone in Baltimore ever ask Verizon for FiOS? Come on Guys, I have been saying this for years, if someone really wants Fiber they have to get together come up with a Plan and Ask. Now years later after Verizon has spent Billions laying Fiber in areas that wanted them there and needed upgrading, it's a little too late. Verizon has to recoup some of the money they spent and people don't want to pay the price of FTTH. People don't want to pay more than $50/mo, so their higher tiers are not selling, so of course Verizon has to cut back. I'm sure if Baltimore really wants Verizon FiOS, they could come up with some kind of a deal. | |
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| Apparently they only really started begging recently: Matthew Weinstein has been asking that question a lot in the past month, especially at community meetings around north Baltimore.
In the past month, Weinstein has lobbied community associations in Charles Village, Homeland and Mt. Washington to join him in asking the question -- and he is seeking the support of the Greater Homewood Community Corp.
Weinstein, 46, is on the warpath against Verizon, which has brought FiOS, its heavily advertised brand of high-speed, fiberoptic Internet service, to much of the state, but not to Baltimore City. | |
 funchordsHelloPremium,MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA
kudos:5 | reply to alchav
said by alchav:Come on Guys, I have been saying this for years, if someone really wants Fiber they have to get together come up with a Plan and Ask. I seriously don't think you've been paying good attention. These community broadband efforts have already happened several times and the carriers fight it with vigor (and STILL won't provide the service themselves)!
--
Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- District of Columbia -- KJ7RL
Tweet! Tweet! -- »twitter.com/funchords | |
fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | reply to alchav
City Council members are among the least educated or least effective politicians.
Like you said, if the city wanted it, that bad, as they're crying about now.. why do they wait for Verizon to come to them? Have they called Verizon to the table? Have THEY put out any kind of offers or incentives to Verizon to get them to come sooner? (Things like quick approval process, franchise agreements that aren't excessively overbearing, tax breaks, no-fee permits, or other things that would make Verizon see them as attractive?) My guess is no. So with that said, they'll wind up with FiOS, when Verizon has that market slated for a build out.
Government is often like lazy cats that lay around the house... they lay around with one eye open thinking "what can this family do for me".. Government needs to think of who they are as a business; one that is a two-way street. They sit back in their board rooms and chambers waiting for people to come answer to them. They sit back and judge everyone else, but themselves, and when they DO reach out to business, it's becuase they usually feel that the business has done THEM wrong..
The only thing that residents of Baltimore have upset about is that their City Council has failed them by not thinking pro-actively ... I mean, do these politicians make all sorts of promises to get elected.. how often do they ever reach out and look for new, more efficient ways, to make that tax dollar actually WORK and make life better - after all, that's their job.. that's why they were elected. | |
| reply to Karl Bode
said by Karl Bode:Apparently they only really started begging recently: Matthew Weinstein has been asking that question a lot in the past month, especially at community meetings around north Baltimore.
In the past month, Weinstein has lobbied community associations in Charles Village, Homeland and Mt. Washington to join him in asking the question -- and he is seeking the support of the Greater Homewood Community Corp.
Weinstein, 46, is on the warpath against Verizon, which has brought FiOS, its heavily advertised brand of high-speed, fiberoptic Internet service, to much of the state, but not to Baltimore City. Actually, to answer the question, yes. After a year of Verizon advertising and marketing FiOS (I mean AGGRESSIVE advertising consisting of multiple ad blocks, as well as billboards and radio ads.
Even cars painted with Verizon FiOS logos), and a lack of service, the print version of the Baltimore Sun (They charge for online access so I cannot send a link) printed a series of complaints from people who say they always saw advertisements for the service but could not get it. Multiple op-eds were posted as well.
So it is actually not the first time people have complained. This is just the first time they've complained and it has gone further than a local newspaper.
I can actually point to a blog in Frederick, Maryland:
At a time when nearby Montomery County, Howard County and even Leesburg are enjoying the blazing speed, reliability, and low cost of Verizon FIOS–a service Consumer Reports recently rated #1 nationwide while Comcast placed second from dead last on its list–Frederick and Frederick County still aren’t even on Verizon’s radar. In short: We aren’t worth their bother–not yet. While Verizon Customer Service suggested we will eventually get FIOS, no one knows when this might happen.
Meanwhile, all those glorious FIOS television commercials keep airing in Frederick County.
»frederickmarylandonline.com/2008···p-again/ | | |
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| Good additional info, thanks! | |
| reply to fiberguy
said by fiberguy:City Council members are among the least educated or least effective politicians. Like you said, if the city wanted it, that bad, as they're crying about now.. why do they wait for Verizon to come to them? Have they called Verizon to the table? Have THEY put out any kind of offers or incentives to Verizon to get them to come sooner? (Things like quick approval process, franchise agreements that aren't excessively overbearing, tax breaks, no-fee permits, or other things that would make Verizon see them as attractive?) My guess is no. So with that said, they'll wind up with FiOS, when Verizon has that market slated for a build out. Government is often like lazy cats that lay around the house... they lay around with one eye open thinking "what can this family do for me".. Government needs to think of who they are as a business; one that is a two-way street. They sit back in their board rooms and chambers waiting for people to come answer to them. They sit back and judge everyone else, but themselves, and when they DO reach out to business, it's becuase they usually feel that the business has done THEM wrong.. The only thing that residents of Baltimore have upset about is that their City Council has failed them by not thinking pro-actively ... I mean, do these politicians make all sorts of promises to get elected.. how often do they ever reach out and look for new, more efficient ways, to make that tax dollar actually WORK and make life better - after all, that's their job.. that's why they were elected. They also happen to be lobbied by the incumbents. | |
| reply to Karl Bode
Karl, if you only knew how the City of Baltimore was trying to extort money out of Comcast back in the 70's and 80's, you would have a different opinion.
When I moved to Baltimore City back in the early 80's (which is a separate entity from the county), I was 11 years old. The surrounding counties had cable TV. Baltimore City supposedly tried to get cable TV in for years but always demanded ridiculous things from providers and none of them wanted to deal with it. Baltimore County surrounds Baltimore City on 3 sides and had Comcast but Comcast said no way. Finally, United Cable said yes after the citizens were in near open revolt over no cable TV in the city and having to deal with Super TV.
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperTV
United Cable (later United Artists Cable and then TCI) came in and tried to provide service but had issues especially with stolen equipment.
Another issue they had was the contract stated they had to have 100% of the city wired. They had a 4 year plan and while they claimed they had the city serviced, there were quite a few spots that were not and they fought tooth and nail not to service them. This all took a toll on them.
So while a few of the northern parts of the city can cry about FIOS, they still have issues with the inner city, especially the east and west sides which are nothing but problems. | |
alchav
join:2002-05-17
Palm Desert, CA | reply to fiberguy
said by fiberguy:City Council members are among the least educated or least effective politicians. Like you said, if the city wanted it, that bad, as they're crying about now.. why do they wait for Verizon to come to them? Have they called Verizon to the table? Have THEY put out any kind of offers or incentives to Verizon to get them to come sooner? (Things like quick approval process, franchise agreements that aren't excessively overbearing, tax breaks, no-fee permits, or other things that would make Verizon see them as attractive?) My guess is no. So with that said, they'll wind up with FiOS, when Verizon has that market slated for a build out. The Fiberguy is absolutely right, crying about it will get you no where, you have to form a workable plan and pursue it. This not only works for Cities, but for Communities too. I live in a Community of about 5000 homes, and when I moved in here in 2000 all we had was Dial up. I joined a Committee to research and pursue Broadband Providers. We have both Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS. So don't tell me it can't be done. | |
| reply to moonpuppy
said by moonpuppy:So while a few of the northern parts of the city can cry about FIOS, they still have issues with the inner city, especially the east and west sides which are nothing but problems. This is a sad fact, especially with the sheer amount of vacants which they will have to pass under said franchise agreement. In terms of seeking maximum return of investment, the best place to wire would be the inner harbor area. Outside of that, East and West Baltimore wouldn't provide much of one. | |
| said by PapaMidnight:This is a sad fact, especially with the sheer amount of vacants which they will have to pass under said franchise agreement. In terms of seeking maximum return of investment, the best place to wire would be the inner harbor area. Outside of that, East and West Baltimore wouldn't provide much of one. You could hit South Baltimore (Federal Hill, Otterbien, etc.) and some other parts in the North and maybe even Canton, but the rest of the city is worthless. | |
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