The Cooperative Wholesale model being pursued in Philly does *not*
require tax payer dollars for funding and does *not* compete with
private enterprise. In fact it encourages competition and provides
mechanism for non-profits to offer affordable broadband to those
struggling up the socioeconomic ladder.
Municipal broadband does *not* mean free wifi paid for by tax payers. If
you look closely at the the Philly business model they are not planning
to give away anything or use tax payer dollars. I am not a communist and
I do not support municipal, state or federal government competing with
private enterprise. I do believe that the cable/telco duopoly must be
broken if we want real competition and not the sham we currently have.
If we let history be our guide industries controlled by two
mega-corporations often end up with collusion and price fixing . Do you
want Verizon and Time Warner dictating what you pay for broadband? Or
worse dictating how your business may offer services and what your
allowed to charge your customers? Sounds like communism... da?
Competitively priced broadband is good for our city/country economically
and socially.
Currently the city is pursuing a poll top franchise system that is yet
to lead to anything but a few of the usual suspects writing checks to
the city. Council person Gail Brewer has recently held hearings in her
Technology in Government committee on the creation of broadband policy
task force that will draw public and private representation. The task
force will, if approved, be tasked with producing a report on the
"technical, legal, environmental and economical feasibility of providing
affordable broadband access to all New York City residents, nonprofit
organizations and businesses.". If the city council approves the
creation of this task force, we will finally have a forum in which to
debate this and other strategies. Please read below to get a better
understanding of how municipal broadband can provide competition,
affordable broadband for New York's neediest and is not done at tax
payer expense.
- Dustin -
From our friends at Civitium. A short explanation of Cooperative Wholesale:
(http://www.civitium.com/PDFs/Civitium_NYC_Presentation.pdf)
"The Cooperative Wholesale™ model attempts to address the municipality's
need
to cooperate with the private sector and minimize the use of public
funding. The business
model involves the city forming an entity that coordinates the funding
and is eligible to
receive private foundation grants, state and federal monies, and bank
loans. Once the
funding is secure, the entity then prepares a Request for Proposal (RFP)
for private
parties to design, deploy, and manage the wireless broadband network. In
exchange for
pole rights and other assets owned by the city, the network provides
fixed and mobile
wireless broadband access to the city and to other potential government
customers as
anchor tenants, representing a build versus buy decision and usually
saving tax dollars on
monthly telecommunications expenses. The existing network capacity is
sold at
wholesale prices to Internet Service Providers, incumbents, and others
interested in
competing for and servicing business and residential subscribers. Using
the free cash
flow generated by fees collected from the government anchor tenants and
private sector
providers, the entity is able to fund technology training, content
development, and low
cost equipment programs for low income citizens. While the Cooperative
Wholesale™
model satisfies the needs of many communities seeking to address the
Digital Divide, it
faces the following risks:
· Securing funding through private foundations, government grants, and
private
loans can take time
· Model requires interest from ISPs and others in order to be viable
Though not a one-size-fits-all solution, the Cooperative Wholesale™
model does
address the most fundamental political challenges to deploying a
wireless network,
especially when such a project is motivated by a social focus to close
the Digital Divide."
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
On Fri, 29 Jul 2005, Laura Forlano wrote:
Please take a moment to sign this petition from Free Press. Thanks!
Hi,
How can I register my opposition to this petition, that would increase my
taxes as a resident and business owner, while at same time take away my
business income that comes from providing residential DSL and wireless
broadband?
You know, not everyone on this list is a communist.
-alex
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