Broadband War & an Interactive Municipal Map

Ant writes "Broadband Reports mentions a CNET News.com story on the U.S.'s growing debate over municipal broadband. Across the country, acrimonious conflicts have erupted as local governments attempt to create publicly funded broadband services with faster connections and cheaper rates for all citizens, narrowing the so-called digital divide. The Bells and cable companies, for their part, argue that government intervention in their business is not justified and say they are far better equipped to operate complex and far-flung data networks. There is also an interactive municipal broadband legislative map that details the major battlegrounds on the issue. At stake is the fate of high-speed Internet access for millions of Americans, hinging on a fundamental question of civics and economics--whether the government or private industries should take the leading role in building out what's considered this generation's critical infrastructure challenge. Its map shows a breakdown of muni-projects in each state, which have or are developing fiber or Wi-Fi projects, and are facing (existing or pending) legal barriers to doing business."

Comments

How can that be?

[Morosoph]

After all, municipals are inefficient dinosaurs, whereas the telecoms are nimble examples of free-market enterprise!

What you say is simply not possible.

Re:Unbelievable...

[keraneuology]

high speed internet access is rapidly becoming as essential to the growth and development of the mind as public education.

Yeah... just imagine what Einstein could have accomplished if he had been able to receive 50,000 ads for p3515 pills and lots and lots of juicy pr0n.

As for good, quality ejucashun with computers, there have been articles written from time to time about how teachers, tired of grading 15 page papers for the 45 chillun's in their classes have assigned a 15 slide powerpoint presentation instead. IIRC this was brought up in Scientific American a year or two back, and has surfaced elsewhere a time or three. Google exercise is left for the reader. Yep... dat der's PROGRESS! Instead of graduating vast numbers of people capable of writing, say, a grant proposal or filling out a tax form they'll be able to develop a series of powerpoint slides to defend themselves against RIAA's lawsuits or chart the length of their various bits of anatomy as they freebase their cha3p v14gr4!