Might take you up on that in the spring :)
On 1/10/20 1:25 PM, Chris Fabien wrote:
Matt, come for a visit in Michigan and I can take you around to several
smaller companies building out fiber in rural areas with private
funding. We ARE seeing it, I am doing it personally with over 60 miles
of fiber in the ground now.
On Thu, Jan 9, 2020 at 12:48 PM Matt Hoppes
<[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
So why are we not seeing the same thing with fiber optic then? Why
are we needing USDA grants? Here in PA much of rural areas are
covered by Zito Media that was various smaller cable companies.
> On Jan 9, 2020, at 12:43 PM, Ken Hohhof <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>
> I think it was all private money. Lots of little cable companies
that were acquired to form the big ones we have now. For example,
Comcast in my area used to be Jones Intercable:
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones_Intercable
>
> I don't know of any cable TV systems in very rural areas. They
typically cover towns but not the outside areas. Not profitable to
run coax where there aren't a lot of people. Franchise agreements
might have required them to cover the entire incorporated area of
the town, otherwise they might not even extend to the edge of town.
>
> I'm guessing cable TV systems were pretty profitable, hence lots
of people started them. And originally cable franchises were like a
monopoly, you didn't have to compete with 10 other providers on
price, and it was an asset you could sell. Even today, the big
cable companies have an unwritten agreement to mostly not compete in
each others territory.
>
> In my WISP service area we have a small cable company that covers
4 towns. Not the rural areas, just the towns. It is basically
owned and run by one guy, I think the cable system was bankrupt and
shut down for several years before that.
>
> www.heartlandcable.com <http://www.heartlandcable.com>
>
> There were a number of cable TV "magnates", the most famous maybe
being John Malone, aka "The Cable Cowboy".
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: AF <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> On Behalf Of Matt Hoppes
> Sent: Thursday, January 9, 2020 11:13 AM
> To: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
> Subject: [AFMUG] Cable TV Monies
>
> I know there are USF funds that have been used to build out
internet and phone and other funding for electric.
>
> How did the early cable systems get funded? I’m not necessarily
talking about associations although certainly to some extent, but
like full on analog cable TV systems in very rural area.
>
> The cost of copper is worse than fiber. How were these systems
bank rolled? Sometimes by a single private person.
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