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Charter: City Giving Google Fiber Unfair Edge (courier-journal.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Louisville's largest cable and internet provider says the city is giving Google Fiber an unfair advantage, and it wants Mayor Greg Fischer to step in and ease key regulations in the coming weeks. In a July 28 letter, Charter Communications told Fischer the city's separate franchise agreements allow Google to operate under less burdensome rules despite the two companies offering local customers similar services. "There is no justification for different regulatory treatment," said Jason Keller, Charter's government liaison. The letter was addressed to Fischer, the 26-member Metro Council and more than five dozen other mayors representing smaller suburban cities. Charter representatives claim unlike Google, it is obligated to pay money to the city above and beyond the millions in tax proceeds Louisville receives; to provide free internet and cable television to dozens of city-owned buildings; and provide costly government channels, as well as a studio for public access channels. Kellie Watson, Fischer's general counsel, said in a statement that Charter "raised some interesting issues and ideas" but that the administration will need to consult with the county attorney's office given the franchise agreement involves federal regulations.
Louisville's largest cable and internet provider says the city is giving Google Fiber an unfair advantage
Cable companies whining about unfair advantages. Cry me a river. This from the same folks that built their business by convincing municipalities to sign exclusive agreements for cable service within an area.
Charter provides television to the city neighborhoods. It is incumbent on them to provide public access because of those television services. All of those concessions except internet service are still for unique services Charter is exclusively providing. Google doesn't do broadcast television.
And yet not in other areas: "Service not available in all areas" https://fiber.google.com/citie...
Government should NOT be involved in regulation of CATV markets. Instead, it should be in the market of providing the Transport Layer, so that ANY company can use the transport layer (Fiber) to provide services, and let the competition happen there, instead of at the last mile.
Removing the LAST MILE problem from the equation will basically open up competition and we'll see actual innovation and price changes. And some municipalities are starting to go down this road. Once it is shown to work (sufficiently better than current franchise agreements), you'll see the end of the monopolistic nature of CATV and Internet Service
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
But not in all areas, like FIOS, "Service not available in all areas" https://fiber.google.com/citie... [google.com]
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHAHAHAHHHA!
"Precious channel space"? You mean like Comcast with a few hundred channels and tons of channel numbers with nothing? Tons of channels that no one ever actually watches? Channels that charge cable companies to carry them yet if the cable companies don't carry those channels, there's no real way for people to see that channel?
Silly cable companies, the truth about you and your over-charging is coming home to bite you in the ass. And you deserve every last bite.
It's not really the same, cable and phone companies built their nerworks with your tax dollars. Google is paying their own way.