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Big Telecoms Strangling Municipal Broadband, FCC Intervention May Provide Relief
MojoKid writes: With limited choice and often dismal upstream speeds, it's no wonder many people are excited to hear that newcomers like Google Fiber are expanding super-fast gigabit internet across the country. But some Americans also have access to other high-speed fiber internet options that compete with the big guys like Comcast and Time Warner Cable: municipal internet. In the case of the small town of Wilson, NC, town officials first approached Time Warner Cable and Embarq, requesting faster Internet access for their residents and businesses. Both companies, likely not seeing a need to "waste" resources on a town of just 47,000 residents, rebuffed their demands. So what did Wilson do? It spent $28 million dollars to build its own high-speed Internet network, Greenlight, for its residents, offering faster speeds and lower prices than what the big guys could offer. And wouldn't you know it; that finally got the big telecoms to respond.
However, the response wasn't to build-out infrastructure in Wilson or compete on price; it was to try and kill municipal broadband efforts altogether in NC, citing unfair competition. NC's governor at the time, Bev Perdue, had the opportunity to veto the House bill that was introduced, but instead allowed it to become law. However, a new report indicates that the FCC is prepared to side with these smaller towns that ran into roadblocks deploying and maintaining their own high-speed Internet networks. The two towns in question include aforementioned Wilson, and Chattanooga, TN. Action by the FCC would effectively strike down the laws — like those that strangle Greenlight in Wilson — which prevent cities from undercutting established players on price. The FCC is also expected to propose regulating internet service as a utility later this week.
However, the response wasn't to build-out infrastructure in Wilson or compete on price; it was to try and kill municipal broadband efforts altogether in NC, citing unfair competition. NC's governor at the time, Bev Perdue, had the opportunity to veto the House bill that was introduced, but instead allowed it to become law. However, a new report indicates that the FCC is prepared to side with these smaller towns that ran into roadblocks deploying and maintaining their own high-speed Internet networks. The two towns in question include aforementioned Wilson, and Chattanooga, TN. Action by the FCC would effectively strike down the laws — like those that strangle Greenlight in Wilson — which prevent cities from undercutting established players on price. The FCC is also expected to propose regulating internet service as a utility later this week.
I'm all for high speed Internet but this town spent $1500 per household for gigabit Internet. This town has a mean income of 36K and one out of four residents lives below the poverty line. The service has only achieved a 33% penetration rate in the town.
People think that ultra high speed Internet is a magic elixir for all of economic problems of an area but that isn't true. It is no different when they rushed to put computers in every school to bridge the so-called "digital divide". Computers are just tools that allow good students to do better the same as can be said for a faster Internet connection. They can also be used to waste classroom time and distract weaker students from concentrating on their studies.
Given the cheap high speed Internet the town now offers you would expect employers to flock to this area, wouldn't you? Isn't that one of the selling points behind this? Have any new technology companies moved in? No, because they understand that having great tools is meaningless if you don't have the people who can use them to great advantage.
"Don't fight city hall," — goes the ancient wisdom. It is pretty bad already — with local governments protecting the huge incumbents in exchange for perks and kickbacks.
Once the towns have their own direct financial interest in the game, dislodging that monopoly will be even harder. Plain and simple, the government can only be allowed to do, what nobody else can. For local governments that translates to policing and dispensing justice. Nothing else.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.