Telco Sues City For Plan To Roll Out Own Broadband

Syngularity writes 'MaximumPC is featuring an article about one broadband provider's decision to sue the city of Monticello, Minnesota after residents passed a referendum to roll out their own fiber optic system. TDS Telecommunications had earlier denied the city's request for the company to provide fiber optic service. During the ensuing legal battle, which prevented the citizens from following through with their plans, TDS Telecommunications took the opportunity to roll out a fiber system.'

Comments

Not government's job

[BadAnalogyGuy]

There are a few roles that government must play. It must provide its citizens protection and a working legal framework. But when the government decides to dabble in providing other services, especially ones in which there already exists private enterprise, there is nothing gained but bureaucracy and government bloat.

Thomas Jefferson must be rolling over in his grave.

Re:Not government's job

[twostix]

I assume you were against the Civil Rights movement and support the argument that if citizens in as state or town had a referendum on driving black people outout then that was peachy and ok as it was the government doing *exactly* what it's citizens had asked?

Because your argument was the exact same argument many people made in the early - mid 20th century. There's rules and laws preventing the government from acting in all sorts of ways for (generally) a very good reason.

Saying that the majority of people demanded it so all further discussion is over is nothing but tyranny.

Just sayin.

Re:Not government's job

[Afforess]

Yes. As long as Private roads don't have a monopoly on the Path from A to B, Public roads are unnecessary.

Re:Not government's job

[jhfry]

Actually... gas taxes are not a percentage of the sale price; instead they are $0.xx/gallon. Unfortunately that means that as gas prices go up, the government actually loses money because people buy less gas. Gas stations are the same way, many of them nearly went broke when prices soared to $3+ just because the credit card companies take their cut as a percentage while the gas station takes a fixed cut per gallon, with high priced gas, the credit card cut was often higher than the stations' cut.

Re:Not government's job

[plague3106]

Ya know, I'd rather cut things like welfare, food stamps, etc. Its infurating to see some fat slob with her four kids riding on a bus for two blocks FOR FREE because she's too lazy to walk, just sucking away the earings of hard working people. We need a saftey net, but we also need to cut the dead weight that doesn't contribute to society AT ALL. And believe me, there's a lot of them around.

Captialism and US at its finest

[Anonymous Coward]

This is not only the finest example of capitalism; it is the finest example of the US in action. Any intelligent person can see why the USians are just a bunch of illiterate lowlife rednecks and niggers(both are the same, just different skin colours), not enough is socialized in the US as the USians back good ol' capitalism, while every other nation other than nations like Somalia are embracing communism or at least socialism. Give the US time and they will fall, especially when petroleum is trading in Euros rather than USian dollars.

Signed,
The Rest of the World

Re:I wish the system could do something good for o

[ricklow]

How does killing people who kill other people teach others that killing people is wrong?

Re:Privitization

[ae1294]

Does anyone honestly think we would have an interstate system today (or even standardized road signs) if we had followed that model?

The only real reason we have an interstate system is because of the red scare.

Re:I wish the system could do something good for o

[Anonymous Coward]

If you kill people who killed (or attempted to kill) people, there's a 100% probability that they will not commit any felonies again. And as an additional bonus, justice has been served. Because 3 years in a youth-camp for ending someones live is not just. If you think now that an eye for an eye will make the world go blind and therefor capital punishment is to abolish, read this: http://munchkinwrangler.wordpress.com/2008/03/12/somebodys-baby/

I can not square the circle enough to get myself thinking, that every person on this planet deserves to live.

Re:Revoke TDS' exclusive license

[commodore64_love]

Government doesn't run power or phones. They are private corporations that are merely regulated, not run. That gives you the advantages of both a free market (electricity is bought and sold all across the U.S.)(phone calls are available from AT&T or Sprint or MCI or Skype or whatever), but still making sure the monopoly does not abuse its power.