On Dec 3, 2004, at 4:47 AM, Jeanne Massey wrote:
Excerpt from "Fast Internet Service for the People" in the Washington Post
today:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1202-08.htm
"For the millions of people who cannot afford high-speed Internet access,
some local officials think they've hit on the answer: Build government-owned
networks to provide service at rates below what big telecommunications
companies charge.
Providing competing networks most likely would lower costs where there are monopoly providers. However, when I lived in Minneapolis, I had a choice of DSL from Qwest and Cable Modem service from Time-Warner. Initially chose Qwest because it was the only broadband provider when I first went looking. However, I most definitely saw my service improve when Time Warner entered the broadband market. My rates dropped and my speeds increased!
Possibly, having the City of Minneapolis provide a competing network would spur further service improvements but I am seriously concerned with how the City of Minneapolis (or any city government) would finance such a network. The City of Minneapolis already has a debt in access of $1 billion and had been running deficits for years. It would be unwise to take on additional debt just so someone can download porn at a cheaper rate than provided by Qwest or Time Warner.
Correct me if I am wrong, but does not the City grant an exclusive franchise to Time Warner for cable service? If so, then the City of Minneapolis is guilty of granting a local monopoly in cable service to Time Warner. If multiple companies had been allowed to compete for your cable service, there might now be multiple companies providing broadband service. Also, the local Qwest monopoly is a result of government regulations. That is, when telephone service began, AT&T, working with state governments and the federal government, sought to create a "natural monopoly" or public utility that was regulated by the government. Had the government refused to allow these natural monopolies, we might not be cursing the poor service of Qwest.
So, if the City of Minneapolis does grant exclusive franchises, maybe it ought to stop because monopolies are bad for customer service.
Scott McGerik South St Paul (formerly Hawthorne) http://scott.mcgerik.com/
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