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Getting Broadband To The Bayou

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the hoo-wee dept.

Caseylite points out an article in USA Today "about the struggle between the city of Lafayette, Louisiana and BellSouth. The big telecom objects to the city installing its own fiber-optic network, claiming unfair competition. The city says its goal is bringing high-speed data access to low income areas to break the poverty cycle, stating a link between broadband access and education and employment."

4 of 274 comments (clear)

  1. Times to kick the telcomms to the curb by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Unfair competition they say? Yeah, how about their continual attempts throughout history to insure a monopoly position on what communications get to our homes. Fiber optics laid by cities looks like the solution to these problems. Oregon lead the way. It is time we all petition our local governments so we can have cable/internet/phone/utility monitors/etc to our homes for less than $50 month (all together).

  2. We have the same thing in our town by neilb78 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Our city installed it's own fiber network... guess who our local teloc is? BellSouth.

    We now have nice, cheap, cable modem (and TV)service ($35/mo = 512k/1.5M); and ip phone service is coming soon.

    --
    © 2004 The SCO Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
  3. Re:It *is* unfair, because of the tax factor... by bani · · Score: 5, Informative

    this is a city utility service, it's funded through use, nobody is forcing anyone to subscribe to broadband. the utility will be funded through access fees.

    other city networks operate exactly this way -- funded through access fees, not public taxation.

  4. Re:Two sides by maxpublic · · Score: 3, Informative

    Capitalists don't love monopolies. Monopolists love monopolies. The two aren't even close to being one and the same.

    Max

    --
    My god carries a hammer. Your god died nailed to a tree. Any questions?