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Heartland Institute Hackery

Ah, the joy of groups who don't disclose their financial sources, claim objectivity, yet are PR extensions of the incumbents and their quest to shape policy. One such group, the Heartland Institute (who also shill for the tobacco industry), this week released another report slamming community broadband; a report you'll see quoted all week long in the media as "independent research", yet is anything but.

For reference, this same group also quietly acts as a PR tool for the tobacco industry, by posing as a "Smoker's Rights" group. Their website contains such gems as: "The public health community’s campaign against smoking is based on junk science."

To be clear, this is a group that pretends to be objective and scientific, yet speaks solely for industry. Why is this important?

The Heartland Institute for years has waged a public relations war on your community's right to wire itself if nobody else will. Not because they truly believe in protecting the consumer or the taxpayer, but because these efforts pose a financial threat to their clients should competition emerge.

Their arguments are often dressed in different hats and disguised as community good will, but it is undeniable that greed is their engine.

The result of these disinformation campaigns are frightened consumers (simply using the word "tax" seems to work) and misinformed lawmakers, who in turn wind up passing state-wide bans, preventing your town or city from building and operating broadband infrastructure. Your opinion does not matter.

Heartland would have you believe everything is perfect in broadband-land:

"Virtually everyone who wants broadband services can get DSL services from their telephone company or cable modem service from their cable company. Cable, telephone, and wireless broadband providers have spent billions of dollars rolling out service in areas that were previously underserved."

Of course anyone who spends more than five minutes perusing our forums knows this statement reeks of fantasy. If there were no gaps, these towns would not be driven to fill them.

This week's report continues the trend of disinformation, ignoring community successes, and as Glenn Fleishman of Wi-Fi Networking news notes, offering no original data.

It's a mish-mash of straw-men and cherry-picked quotes, dressed as a study. It will be picked up by news organizations and distributed in viral fashion all the same (check the PR wire for yourself), giving many U.S. consumers their first impression of community run broadband - from what they will think is an independent research firm.

If their community decides to deploy such a project, they'll think first of what the "experts" said: inevitable fiscal failure and heavy taxation. They won't be aware that there's dozens of ways to finance such projects (not all of them using taxpayer dollars). They won't be aware of successes like Scottsburg Indiana or Tacoma's Click! Network, which has single-handedly driven down the cost of cable in the region by more than 15%.

Municipal broadband is one of several options for underserved communities. Whether these communities should engage in these projects is something that should be debated in and by those communities. Instead, the very companies whose inaction created these projects, use puppet organizations to both pollute the discussion and push state-wide bans, deciding what's best for your community for you.

For more, check out Esme Vos's thoughts over at Muni-Wireless. Also check out this exchange (scroll down) between Glenn Fleishman and Heartland's Joseph Bast, who is caught being rather insincere about the presence of a Phillip Morris executive on his board of directors. Also check out Northwestern professor James Carlini's recent inquiries into Heartland's role in crushing the Illinois tri-cities fiber effort
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

dadkins

MVM

BS

If companys "C" "S" or "V" don't wire these areas, the governing bodies of these areas should be allowed to listen to the people and set up their own infrastructure.

WTF should it matter to the "Big Guys" that aren't planning to do anything(hence no income from) for these communities, if they(communities) take it upon themselves to get the job done?

TechyDad
Premium Member
join:2001-07-13
USA

TechyDad

Premium Member

Re: BS

Because those municipal broadband projects would be competition for them if they ever decided to serve those areas. And there also a threat that an already wired community might see a succeeding muni and decide to do one themselves. It's all about keeping their monopolies and keeping away any possible competition.

justncredible to dadkins

Anon

to dadkins
The article makes a very valid point. Read it.

It clearly cites failures such as CLICK in tacoma. Karl says there is successes yet he provides no proof of them. Where they at? Cite examples where it is clear a muni ran broadband project works. Show us where the spending of tax dollars benefits the whole city and not just a very few.

It is one thing for the politicians to think we are stupid enough to fall for this, it is another when Karl thinks people that come here are that dumb.

John Galt6
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

1 recommendation

John Galt6

Premium Member

Re: BS

Unregistered poster's comments are immediately discounted...
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4

Member

Re: BS

i tried telling him that before. But he only posts when theres something about Munis putting in their own network. He's always against it. But then again he probably works for TWC there in WI and they pay him to say that.

guitarzan
Premium Member
join:2004-05-04
Skytop, PA

guitarzan

Premium Member

Re: BS

Whats the going price for politicians nowadays.? Maybe the people here can pick one or two used ones up cheap.!

odnc
Premium Member
join:2002-02-04
Richmond, VA

1 recommendation

odnc

Premium Member

Re: BS

It's a variable rate, $5000-$75000.

cbrigante2
Wait til Next Year
Premium Member
join:2002-11-22
North Aurora, IL

cbrigante2 to justncredible

Premium Member

to justncredible
said by justncredible:

The article makes a very valid point. Read it.

It clearly cites failures such as CLICK in tacoma. Karl says there is successes yet he provides no proof of them. Where they at? Cite examples where it is clear a muni ran broadband project works. Show us where the spending of tax dollars benefits the whole city and not just a very few.

It is one thing for the politicians to think we are stupid enough to fall for this, it is another when Karl thinks people that come here are that dumb.
When you consider that EVERY town that has not been wired for broadband is a failure on the companies that are funding the Heartland group...I'd say that 1 Municipal failure is small by comparison.

batageek
Slave To The Duopoly
Premium Member
join:2003-01-25

2 recommendations

batageek to justncredible

Premium Member

to justncredible
»www.tricitybroadband.com ··· ures.htm

Read up! quoted directly from the page linked above:

BROADBAND "FAILURES"

The opposition has cited these cities (out of over 580) where they say a municipal broadband utility has failed... They ALSO SAY that there aren't any other communities out there who are providing Fiber To The Home (FTTH). That's news to the 70 communities who belong to the FTTH Council. Check out the list here. And these are not little communities stuck out in the cornfields where there is no competition for service!

Tacoma, Washington
This is news to the folks in Tacoma, whose municipal broadband utility is operating IN THE BLACK and has not resulted in a tax hike. What has happened in Tacoma is that they are not reaching their projected market share as quickly as they predicted. But the utility is alive and well and making money. Check out their public utility »www.thecityoftacoma.com/ ··· .us/tpu/ ). Click the "Click! Network" link on the left side of their page.

And read this recent article in Wired News about Tacoma ...
www.tricitybroadband.com ··· ired.htm)

The Charge: To pay for increased capital costs for their fiber system, Tacoma Public Utilities imposed a 50% surcharge on local electric bills.

Response From The Utility: " I am aware of your citizens group, your upcoming Tri City Broadband Referendum and the aggressive media campaign by those in opposition to your efforts. I review DSL Reports regularly and would like to set the record straight about Click! Network, for those who are interested in facts rather than propaganda.

Click! Network was constructed primarily for the utility’s use, and would have been built whether we deployed commercial services (cable TV, Internet services and data services) or not. I’ve attached a document with a brief history, in hopes the accurate story about Click! will be shared.

To date, Click! serves 21,500 cable TV customers (32% of the homes the network passes), 6,500 high-speed Internet over cable modem customers, and several dozen businesses with high-speed data lines. Our commercial revenues are covering our operating expenses. Efficiencies to the utility have been considerable since Click! facilities are connected to remote terminal units on utility poles around the city. Electric technicians can monitor the health of the power network and dispatch repair crews to exact locations, in a fraction of the time it use to take. Eventually, the utility will be able to automatically connect and disconnect power services and read meters, increasing operational efficiencies.

Attempts by others to thwart competition should be examined carefully. Competition in Tacoma has meant increased customer service by all providers, lower prices, more choice and a boost to economic development. Since Tacoma Power’s investment in Click! Network, the City of Tacoma now markets itself as “America’s Most Wired City” and has lured high-tech businesses to the area.

An important note, those opposing your efforts have erroneously connected Tacoma Power’s surcharge during the energy crisis with Click! Network, when in fact the two have no connection at all. At the beginning of the energy crisis (winter 2000), Click! was already constructed in Tacoma and Tacoma Power had over $100,000,000 in cash reserves, which is triple the amount we carry on an operating basis for contingencies. The utility was determining the best way to invest it when the energy crisis hit. Unfortunately the $100,000,000 was not enough, and the utility chose to initiate a surcharge.

Those with questions about Click! Network can find additional information at our web site at www.click-network.com. Sincerely, Diane R. Lachel,Government and Community Relations Manager, Click! Network, Tacoma Power"

UPDATE 08/12/04 :

From: Lachel, Diane
Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2004 4:46 PM
To: 'Annie Collins'
Subject: Click!'s response to SBC's report

Annie,

Feel free to use any of this information on your web site.

As you know, there has been an organized effort by private industry to discredit municipal telecommunication networks. The information about Click! Network in SBC's report ("Failed Municipal Fiber Networks") is the same old, tired, out-of-context story from previous industry sponsored reports. Here's the real story:

1. Tacoma Power constructed a telecommunications network for their own needs (to connect 65 substations to a centrally located Energy Control Center for the purpose of monitoring the electric system, managing energy load, automatically reading meters, automatically connecting and disconnecting meters, etc.) because the incumbent telephone company and incumbent cable TV company could not provide the capacity the utility required. During the design phase of the network, Tacoma Power decided to add other capacity (for cable TV, data transport and Internet services) on the advice of Stanford Research Institute when their conclusive research showed the Tacoma area was underserved.

2. Arthur Anderson and the Washington Institute Foundation (both cited in the SBC report) based their analysis on an initial planning document (revised after telecom experts were hired) which was one of many elements the policy makers used to authorize the utility to move forward with building Click! Network. The $40 million cited in the SBC report was never adopted as the budget. Instead, $92 million was approved by the Utility Board and City Council over a two biennium period to fund the network. SBC continues to perpetuate inaccuracies from two flawed reports.

3. According to the Public Utility Board, the Tacoma City Council, the Tacoma Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Board, The News Tribune and thousands of residential and business customers - Click! Network is a huge success.

4. SBC's link between Tacoma Power's rate increase and Click! Network has no basis in fact. Public utilities follow a very detailed rate case process, complete with public input. SBC's report shows a lack of understanding of the industry they attempt to discredit. The rate increase (the first in 5 years) was related solely to the energy crisis of 2000-01. Today, Tacoma Power customers pay some of the lowest rates for electricity in the country.

5. In the cities where Click! Network services are available (Tacoma, University Place and Fircrest) prices for cable TV and high-speed Internet are 20 - 25% lower than areas where competition does not exist.

6. Since Click! began providing services, both the incumbent telephone provider and the incumbent cable TV provider have rebuilt their networks, something that hadn't been done in the previous 25 years.

7. Since Click! began providing services, the timeframe for making business fiber connections decreased from 18 months (quoted by US West in 1997) to 30 days (quoted by Click!).

I hope SBC didn't invest too much on the report. It appears they didn't get their money's worth, if accuracy was a goal.

Diane R. Lachel
Government and Community Relations Manager
Click! Network / Tacoma Power
3628 South 35th Street
Tacoma, WA 98409-3192
phone: 253.502.8537
fax: 253.502.8493
dlachel@click-network.com

woody7
Premium Member
join:2000-10-13
Torrance, CA

1 recommendation

woody7 to dadkins

Premium Member

to dadkins
said by dadkins:

If companys "C" "S" or "V" don't wire these areas, the governing bodies of these areas should be allowed to listen to the people and set up their own infrastructure.

WTF should it matter to the "Big Guys" that aren't planning to do anything(hence no income from) for these communities, if they(communities) take it upon themselves to get the job done?
Be cause the "big Guy" have been saying it can't be done, or it cost too much, if the munies can get it done, then that shows they have been lied to or decieved...at the least

Minister
join:2002-01-02
Fleeting

Minister

Member

Mmmm

Smoking health concerns are fueled by junk science, and your town setting up a Wi-Fi hotspot is pure evil!

Light up a cig, and enjoy that dial-up, kids: Progress is in town.

RR Conductor
Ridin' the rails
Premium Member
join:2002-04-02
Redwood Valley, CA
ARRIS SB6183
Netgear R7000

RR Conductor

Premium Member

Re: Mmmm

Boy, this lady (from the article) sure makes you think smoking is glamorous and won't hurt you, mmmmm

SRFireside
join:2001-01-19
Houston, TX

SRFireside to Minister

Member

to Minister
Dialup? Didn't you hear. Now you get can an ISDN digital phone connection that can go almost three times faster than dialup!! And it's way cheaper than a T1 line! I can't wait to plunk my $75 a month down on that lightning fast 64k connection.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Heartland Institute is a Conservative think tank

The Heartland Institute is a conservative funded think tank. It supports capitalism. It isn't trying to fool anyone(except maybe Karl;)). That it has come out against government funded utilities is hardly surprising.

I disagree with the Heartland Institute on the issue of municipal broadband, but it isn't the evil empire being made out in this article. There are pros and cons on the subject. Make up your own mind.

deadmeat
Premium Member
join:2003-03-21
Sonoma, CA

deadmeat

Premium Member

Re: Heartland Institute is a Conservative think ta

said by FFH5:

The Heartland Institute is a conservative funded think tank. It supports capitalism. It isn't trying to fool anyone(except maybe Karl;)). That it has come out against government funded utilities is hardly surprising.

I disagree with the Heartland Institute on the issue of municipal broadband, but it isn't the evil empire being made out in this article. There are pros and cons on the subject. Make up your own mind.
Yea and nicotine isn't addictive .

justncredible to FFH5

Anon

to FFH5

Re: Heartland Institute is a Conservative think tank

list some pros, where are they?

We just recently saw comcast attacked by a muni ran cable company saying the competition was unfair.

The tax payers paid for and built the system and now can not get lower prices. Is that fair? It would be one thing if real competition was allowed, but the muni ran monopoly would win out every time. Crushing the free market choice for a provider. We just saw it happen. So show where a muni is good.
Expand your moderator at work
jsouth
Jsouth
join:2000-12-12
Wichita, KS

1 recommendation

jsouth to justncredible

Member

to justncredible

Re: Heartland Institute is a Conservative think tank

Apparently you don't know how to google search. By the way ECW sucked rocks and your namesake couldn't hack it in the WWE. lol
TACSPEED
Premium Member
join:2001-04-14
Tacoma, WA

TACSPEED to justncredible

Premium Member

to justncredible

Re: Heartland Institute is a Conservative think ta

quote:
list some pros, where are they?
1. More choices.
2. Better service.
3. Lower cost

cybermud
join:2000-08-25
Chicago, IL

cybermud to justncredible

Member

to justncredible

Re: Heartland Institute is a Conservative think tank

said by justncredible:

The tax payers paid for and built the system and now can not get lower prices.
Meanwhile, the wondereful cable and phone companies lower their prices every year!
Beeper
Part Of The Problem
join:2001-09-27
Dayton, OH

Beeper

Member

Re: Heartland Institute is a Conservative think ta

said by cybermud:

Meanwhile, the wondereful cable and phone companies lower their prices every year!
Phone companies lower prices all the time. Long distance and international calls are less than 10% of what they used to be.

SRFireside
join:2001-01-19
Houston, TX

SRFireside

Member

Re: Heartland Institute is a Conservative think ta

Long distance calling is still a very competitive market with lots of players vying for your business. The same can't be said for every community regarding local phone or broadband service.
Beeper
Part Of The Problem
join:2001-09-27
Dayton, OH

Beeper

Member

Re: Heartland Institute is a Conservative think ta

said by SRFireside:

The same can't be said for every community regarding local phone or broadband service.
Why?

Government regulation and taxation.

SRFireside
join:2001-01-19
Houston, TX

SRFireside

Member

Re: Heartland Institute is a Conservative think ta

And with all that the Bells still report high revenues and profits. Regulation came because the Bells agreed to it. Taxation... well every business gets taxed in some form or another. Since the ILECs have technically been around for many, many years as an unfettered monopoly I'm sure that has something to do with it as well.
Beeper
Part Of The Problem
join:2001-09-27
Dayton, OH

Beeper

Member

Re: Heartland Institute is a Conservative think ta

said by SRFireside:

Taxation... well every business gets taxed in some form or another.
Businesses don't pay taxes. They pass their taxes onto their customers.

RadioDoc

join:2000-05-11
La Grange, IL

RadioDoc

Re: Heartland Institute is a Conservative think ta

said by Beeper:

Businesses don't pay taxes. They pass their taxes onto their customers.
Spoken like someone who doesn't own a business...

You are welcome to pay all the (self-) employment taxes I pay.
bmn
? ? ?

join:2001-03-15
hiatus

bmn to Beeper

to Beeper
said by Beeper:
said by SRFireside:

The same can't be said for every community regarding local phone or broadband service.
Why?

Government regulation and taxation.
That's only PART of the problem...
Beeper
Part Of The Problem
join:2001-09-27
Dayton, OH

Beeper

Member

Re: Heartland Institute is a Conservative think ta

said by bmn:

That's only PART of the problem...
You are correct.

Regulation and taxation are problems #1 and #2, I submit.
bmn
? ? ?

join:2001-03-15
hiatus

1 edit

bmn

Re: Heartland Institute is a Conservative think ta

said by Beeper:
said by bmn:

That's only PART of the problem...
You are correct.

Regulation and taxation are problems #1 and #2, I submit.
I would say regulation is #3 and crooked lobbyists and politicians in #2... Taxation would probably be number #4.

The biggest reason for the lack of first mile competition is simple economics...

RadioDoc

join:2000-05-11
La Grange, IL

RadioDoc to cybermud

to cybermud

Re: Heartland Institute is a Conservative think tank

Huh? I'm paying $5 less a month now than I did in May 2000, and getting almost 8 times the speeds. That from the evil SBC empire to boot. What are you talking about?

As for the rest of this discussion, 95% of the market couldn't care less. If you haven't figured out that the government is for sale yet you are fatally naive, and local government comes the cheapest. Karl Bode See Profile must have run out of real stories already this week. Of course there are lobbying organizations out to push their client's interests. Until it's made illegal, so what?

Which reminds me, time to go grease a palm on the local zoning board. I need a setback waiver...
Nightstick
join:2000-09-21
Philadelphia, PA

Nightstick to justncredible

Member

to justncredible
I agree 100%!!

Since when is the government known for providing cheap, efficient services?

I live in Philadelphia, where both the water and gas utilities are run by the city. Not surprisingly, our water and gas rates are among the highest in the nation.

IF city-wide municipal-run wi-fi is even successfully deployed in this decade in Philadelphia (which I sincerely doubt), all it will be is ANOTHER overpriced, poorly managed city service provided FREE to the poor at enormous expense to the dwindling middle-class tax base.

Bet on it!

jsinaiko
Premium Member
join:2001-04-25
Chicago, IL

jsinaiko to FFH5

Premium Member

to FFH5
Sorry - they are not a think tanks, they are a rightwing PR operation run by flacks and hacks. They claim to be impartial and unbiased (like Fox News).

Look at their points of view holistically and the picture emerges. They'd support Hitler if the Bushies told them to.
bmn
? ? ?

join:2001-03-15
hiatus

bmn

Think tanks...

Never trust them (conservative, liberal, whatever) to give you the objective facts... They aren't interested in facts and figures, but their agenda and what data they can "find" to support it... I've been saying that for years.
eggboard
Premium Member
join:2000-11-18
Seattle, WA

eggboard

Premium Member

Re: Think tanks...

That's the fundamental problem here with this report.

There are several institutions involved, none of which reveal their funding sources, and many of which don't even note their membership.

I have written extensively about this issue, and I just want the sock puppets who are posing as objective independent analysts to pull off the sock and let us know who is paying them so we can make up our own minds. I would be happy enough to know why Verizon or Comcast thinks muni wireless is a bad idea.

You can always tell a one-sided report or discussion: things they disagree with are entirely left out. In the first five parts of this six-part report, they don't talk at all about any of the many successes--they could analyze those and explain why they are rare or not actually a success. But they don't. They point to examples that further their cause, which doesn't demonstrate rigor in their thought.

This is true left, right, and center, as badmagicnumber says.

Octopussy2
Premium Member
join:2003-03-30
Batavia, IL

Octopussy2

Premium Member

Re: Think tanks...

It was just like when SBC told our residents that fiber was an "unproven technology" during our broadband referendum. Well, now look who is rolling out some fiber? It is all lies to protect the Telco's and cable co.'s bottom lines.

These astroturf organizations and think tanks supported by them, will write whatever it is that the telcos (in this instance)want.

Has anyone ever noticed it is always the same organizations trying to discredit muni-ventures? And they all point back to each other as sources: The Beacon Hill Institute (does cable "research"), The Heartland Institute (muni broadband - I could write a book why they are wrong and prove many of their "failures" listed are successful), Progress and Freedom Foundation, Ron Rizzuto (from Denver), and recently Steven Titch (Senior Fellow from the Heartland Institute). Whenever they need a quote in which to base research done in their footnotes they quote another paper or "research" done by the other one. It is truly laughable. It is one giant circle with each one covering for the other.

jsinaiko
Premium Member
join:2001-04-25
Chicago, IL

jsinaiko

Premium Member

Heartland Institute is a right wing flack org...

It's ironic that they are located in an extremely "blue" state in that bluest of cities, Chicago.

They are about as far to the right as one can get. They are in the pockets of the GOP and corporate America and ss such are not interest red in actually providing accurate information or impartial insight.

Just another example of the intellectual dishonesty practiced by the right.

There are no words to express how much I loath these people. Hack is a euphemism when referring to them.