"In an attempt to influence telecom regulations, phone and cable giants have hooked up federal lawmakers with nearly a half-billion dollars since 1998. Verizon Communications alone contributed $102 million to elected officials who, frequently, pulled the plug on the competition. So it comes as no surprise to industry watchdogs that this former “Baby Bell” acted with megabit speed last year when Philadelphia Mayor John Street announced plans to provide affordable wireless Internet services to the entire city."
The article is at http://www.clamormagazine.org/issues/31/economics.shtml
One question that comes to mind to me is whether the proposed $18-24 price is really as low as we could be going--some places seem to be providing very low-cost or even free wifi to large areas, like the whole downtown Champaign-Urbana, Illinois area. I realize $18-24 may be cheap compared to existing private broadband providers but is that really as low as we could go if this was seen as a community service that just has to cover its costs rather than a profit making opportunity for a large corporation? As the article says:
“Previously, telecom lobbyists trying to prevent communities from competing in broadband had fallen under the radar screen. Now people are asking: is the Internet a system to generate revenue for private companies or is it a global information utility that is core to our democracy?”
Bruce Shoemaker Holland Neighborhood
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