Re: Muni Fiber and Politics

[Matthew Kaufman <matthew () matthew at>]

I think the difference is when the municipality starts throwing in free or highly subsidized layer 3 connectivity "free 
with every layer 1 connection"

Matthew Kaufman

(Sent from my iPhone)

> On Jul 21, 2014, at 12:08 PM, Blake Dunlap <ikiris () gmail com> wrote:
>
> My power is pretty much always on, my water is pretty much always on
> and safe, my sewer system works, etc etc...
>
> Why is layer 1 internet magically different from every other utility?
>
> -Blake
>
> > On Mon, Jul 21, 2014 at 1:38 PM, William Herrin <bill () herrin us> wrote:
> > > On Mon, Jul 21, 2014 at 10:20 AM, Jay Ashworth <jra () baylink com> wrote:
> > > Over the last decade, 19 states have made it illegal for municipalities
> > > to own fiber networks
> >
> > Hi Jay,
> >
> > Everything government does, it does badly. Without exception. There
> > are many things government does better than any private organization
> > is likely to sustain, but even those things it does slowly and at an
> > exorbitant price.
> >
> > Muni fiber is a competition killer. You can't beat city hall; once
> > built it's not practical to compete, even with better service, so
> > residents are stuck with only the overpriced (either directly or via
> > taxes), usually underpowered and always one-size-fits-all network
> > access which results. As an ISP I watched something similar happen in
> > Altoona PA a decade and a half ago. It was a travesty.
> >
> > The only exception I see to this would be if localities were
> > constrained to providing point to point and point to multipoint
> > communications infrastructure within the locality on a reasonable and
> > non-discriminatory basis. The competition that would foster on the
> > services side might outweigh the damage on the infrastructure side.
> > Like public roads facilitate efficient transportation and freight
> > despite the cost and potholes, though that's an imperfect simile.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Bill Herrin
> >
> >
> > --
> > William Herrin ................ herrin () dirtside com  bill () herrin us
> > Owner, Dirtside Systems ......... Web: <http://www.dirtside.com/>
> > Can I solve your unusual networking challenges?