Rob Froelich
join:2000-03-26
Saint Charles, IL
clubs:
 ·Comcast
| reply to trmentry
Re: ATT Woes
Geneva, St. Charles, and Batavia are doing the right thing, something that will get AT&T attention when it happens. They are doing a feasibility study of taking over the cable franchise and using a fiber network built by the three to deliver phone, cable TV and Internet. I'm glad to be a resident of Geneva and am praying this thing gets off the ground soon. We can't get cable modems in Geneva, and the digital cable bites - its down for at least 1-2 days every month. I have yet to see any credits for the downtime I've experience from ATT.
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Help! Help! I'm being oppressed!! |
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NtwkGUY1
join:2001-02-08
Lewisville, TX
| Hey Rob, this seems to be about the TV portion. I have yet to see a Municipality agreement that requires the Cable TV company to provide broadband service. For one, I would not like for my City to be running the Cable or fiber system. Cities should stick to running the city. Leave the telecommunications to private industry... |
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richb01803
Rich
join:2001-02-14
02100
| said by NtwkGUY:
Cities should stick to running the city. Leave the telecommunications to private industry...
You're omitting another option: the city can grant a license to a newly-created private entity, comprised of advocates and local entrepreneurs, which runs the telecoms.
And deny AT&T Broadband and its ilk licenses unless it conforms to the same constraints placed on the new entity.
Personally, I think that either these entities should be regulated to the hilt if they are given exclusive license, or else they should not be given exclusive licenses and the city should enforce creation of competitive service offerings among at least 3 rivals.
Also lacking is leadership at the federal level: the FCC can and should create template regulations, to be enforced at the local level, which help create a level playing field for competition. For now, the FCC is completely asleep on these issues, claiming a lack of jurisdiction. |
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NtwkGUY1
join:2001-02-08
Lewisville, TX
| Regulation is one thing. But these cities do not have the talent, have the buying power of a large company, nor the resources. As for the rival thing, there are a few places in the US that have more than one cable company serving the same households. It works for the most part. |
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Rob Froelich
join:2000-03-26
Saint Charles, IL
clubs:
·Comcast
| Hey Jim,
I have to disagree with you. Geneva already provides my power and water and pay about half what everyone around me pays, and have yet to have a single problem with service. I don't buy the argument that a municipality couldn't attract and retain the services of qualified people to build and manage their network. They have already done so very successfully on the electric utility side, and provide a number of other city services effectively. So far the private sector has failed to provide anything resembling good cable service or Internet Broadband (75% of the Geneva, St. Charles and Batavia population cannot get DSL, 100% cannot get cable modems today). Broadband is so critical to the growth of the local economy, that when the private sector fails as they have in this case the public sector SHOULD step up and do what it can. The argument that its to hard for a municipal government to do is hogwash when you consider the fact that there are many towns like these that are on very solid ground financially and have made great strides in providing essential physical infrastructure to their constituents. Don't get me started on the how de-regulation has failed us in so many other markets - look at the California power crisis that could never have happened without the largely unregulated privatization of that industry.
Rob
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Help! Help! I'm being oppressed!! |
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richb01803
Rich
join:2001-02-14
02100
| reply to NtwkGUY1
Rob raises a good point.
Most cities operate their own waterworks; not quite such a high percentage run their own trash pickup but I'm pretty sure it's well over 50%.
In greater Boston, a few communities have tried privatizing, with very much mixed results.
It would not surprise me at all if telecom as an industry fails just like passenger railroads. The question, in that event, would be whether we want the Feds to pick up the pieces, or our local communities.
I'd go with the local waterworks model, if it comes to that. |
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TACSPEED
Premium
join:2001-04-14
Tacoma, WA
·Advanced Stream
| reply to NtwkGUY1
Municipal cable companies are great!
If you wait for private industry, you could be dead before you get it.
In Tacoma, TCI wasn't interested in upgrading their cable system until the city decided to build a cable system. We now get cable modem service for less then 30 bucks a month, one of the lowest prices in the nation. Heck, we can even get fiber to the home if we want. Try and get fiber to your home from ATT.
Municipal cable companies are great!!!!! |
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