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Playing Twenty Questions
SBC Survey or or political propaganda?

As we mentioned yesterday, officials behind a new municipal broadband network for the Illinois cities of Batavia, St. Charles, and Geneva, are angered at both Comcast and SBC for a survey being conducted by the companies this week. Area leaders claim the questions in the survey were "lies", designed to mislead and dissuade residents from voting for the new proposal. SBC claims the survey was simple research, but refused to release the questions. We've obtained a list of the questions from an area resident, allowing you to make up your own mind.

The survey, which also asks participants for their political party affiliation and age, asks the following questions:

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-Will you vote in the April 1 election?

-Do you believe your community is heading in the right direction?

-How do you feel about the following names and businesses? Comcast, Mayor Kevin Burns, SBC, Mayor Susan Klinkhamer, Mayor Jeff Schielke, AT&T Broadband

-How would you rate the job performance of your government utility?

-Do you have Internet access?

-Who is your ISP provider?

-Are you satisfied with your ISP provider?

-Do you believe high‑speed Internet access is important?

-Did you know that AT&T Broadband & SBC offer high-­speed Internet access to most businesses in your community?

-Do you support the Tri­Cities broadband proposal that will appear on the April 1 ballot?

-How would you rate your AT&T broadband service?

-How would you rate SBC customer service?

-Do you believe local government can provide better customer service?

-What is your opinion on the following statements:

AT&T Broadband can't be trusted to provide service at an affordable price.

Taxpayers should not invest more than $20 million on Internet service when two private companies provide that same service.

-Is it appropriate to spend 62 million for broadband service when two private companies already provide that service?

-Are private companies better prepared to offer high-­speed Internet access via telephone and cable service than local government?

-Are the following reasons persuasive to vote "Yes" in the upcoming referendum:

The local government would provide video conferencing.

Local government would provide more reliable service.

Local government would provide high‑speed Internet service.

Local government would use purer technology.

Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles already own and operate their own utility.

-Are the following reasons persuasive to vote "No" in the upcoming referendum:

All taxpayers might pay higher taxes for only a few users.

The proposed plan creates a large expensive and inefficient bureaucracy like that of Amtrak and the Post Office.

-Do you believe local schools will have to cut teaching staff, increase class sizes and eliminate after­ school programs because the Tri‑Cities broadband referendum competes with existing school referendums?

-Should tax money be allowed to provide pornographic movies for residents?

-Do you believe, if the broadband proposal fails, there would not be money to spend on transportation and educational needs?

-Would a government broadband invade privacy and allow the government to listen to your telephone conversations, monitor the Internet sites you visit and know what cable shows you watch?

-Would the following questions make you more or less likely to support Tri‑Cities broadband:

The technology local government would use would be obsolete in a few years therefore requiring another bond issuance later.

The government plan requires property taxes to increase if 30 percent of the households do not immediately sign up for service.

Because private company offers broadband service there is no need for government to provide the same service.

-Now after listening to the previous questions, do you support or oppose the government broadband plan?

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MrFixit1
join:1999-11-26
Madison, WI

2 recommendations

MrFixit1

Member

Legal Problems ?

Seems to me that if »www.kcchronicle.com/toda ··· 971.html is correct more than a few laws were broken .