The Joy of Astroturf Or 'How to disguise corporate PR' Yesterday we discussed how the bell and cable supported "Heartland Institute" had released a report trashing city run Wi-Fi (and other muni broadband), while claiming their findings were independent research. Eweek and Slashdot expand the discussion, noting how the report is being circulated by the "New Millennium Research Council", a subsidiary of Issue Dynamics, a PR firm often criticized for Astroturfing (phony grass roots efforts).
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  dadkinsCan you do Blu?Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
kudos:18 | More Corporate BS! "If we can't make it work, then no one can", yet when some muni *DOES* make it work... they cry/snivel/bitch about it.
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No Firefox here, move along! | |
| | | Why not If these cable and dsl companies want to lobby to stop muni broadband they should be allowed to. no worries.
But when their low handed advertising and lobbying proves successful they should then be forced to wire that area themselves and offer their services. No matter the loss to them. | |
|  | | | Re: Why not Well that's the annoying part, they fight to stop areas from getting wired because they "might want to do it... sometime... in the future... maybe".
It seems rather arrogant of them to force people into using old technology until the big cable/dsl provider FEELS like upgrading. | |
| | | | | | |  calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA
 ·Comcast Formerl..
| Re: Why not Agreed. Their big fear is competition from the only other player with wide-open access to streets. Every other new provider has to deal with issues that Bell doesn't, because they are "grandfathered".
calvoiper
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VoIP--the death knell of remaining voice monopolies! | |
| | | | BeeperPart Of The Problem
join:2001-09-27
Dayton, OH | said by Jason Levine: Can't have any of that competition stuff, now can we? Competition is good.
It is a bad thing to have a competitor who is also the rule maker, rule enforcer, and legal arbiter. It is a bad thing to have government own the means of production. It is a bad thing to have a competitor make good its losses with increased utility costs or higher taxes.
Government should stay out of data delivery and stick to what it does best, squander money.
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Guaranteed Fear and Loathing. Abandon all hope. Prepare for the Weirdness. Get familiar with Cannibalism. | |
| | | | | calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA Reviews:
·Comcast Formerl..
| Re: Why not Well, it's not like the FCC or the state PUC would be getting into the business--cities don't have a great deal of regulatory enforcement power over ISPs.
In reality, it may depend on how much you view ISP service as a "utility" and how vital it is. Cities have a long and successful history delivering utility services. Most commonly, they have delivered water and sewer service. Many cities have municipal electric service, and municipal gas service is also found from time to time. Sometimes, the city ends up doing something because nobody else wants to--like garbage collection in tiny towns.
Finally, you will more often see situations where a city owned utility supports the general fund than one where the tax base supports the city owned utility. Why? Because it's almost always easier for the city government to raise the price of the utility service than for them to raise taxes--so budget shortfalls on either side often get plugged by utility rate increases.
Of course, if I worked for a whining Baby Bell that was more interested in spending time and money buying ATT than in building broadband capacity, I wouldn't want to see a city build its own network, either.
calvoiper
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VoIP--the death knell of remaining voice monopolies! | |
| | | | | | BeeperPart Of The Problem
join:2001-09-27
Dayton, OH | Re: Why not said by calvoiper:Finally, you will more often see situations where a city owned utility supports the general fund than one where the tax base supports the city owned utility. Why? Because it's almost always easier for the city government to raise the price of the utility service than for them to raise taxes--so budget shortfalls on either side often get plugged by utility rate increases. Perfectly said.
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Guaranteed Fear and Loathing. Abandon all hope. Prepare for the Weirdness. Get familiar with Cannibalism. | |
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| | very important message here This is a huge deal, as this is the TYPICAL method used by all of corp america. The constant manipulation of the public cannot continue to go unchecked. Unfortunately, people don't get it. RIAA sueing some dead lady gets more attention. | |
| | | | Re: very important message here quote:
RIAA sueing some dead lady gets more attention.
Well that makes two of us irked by that. | |
| | | | | Re: very important message here The town i live in has had its broadband/cable tv system run by the municipal light dept. about 15 months. Our electric bills are approx 26% less than the surrounding towns. The cable/broadband is about 15% less than Comcast comparing prices. The subscriber base is now over 4000 customers which allows the unit to be able to be self sustaining without relying on any subsidies from the taxpayers. I find that I will save approx $180 this year compared to Comcast. Technical, or service issues are handled promptly, 24 hours or less. So why schouldn"t other towns or cities be able to do this? In my opinion any competition is GOOD! Oh, and by the way if our light bill is paid within 10 days we get a 10% discount. I've yet to hear anything like that on the private side. | |
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