>>>>> "Michael" == Michael <[email protected]> writes:
Michael> Including Independence Oregon. Michael> http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/03/133-us-cities-now-run-their-own-broadband-networks.ars I want to alert the PLUG community, particularly those that work or live in the City of Portland and want fiber someday, to a series of public meetings to discuss a Broadband Strategic Plan that the City is working on. I served on a working group to help with the process. I am not sure of the meeting schedule yet, but back in January the plan was to have the hearings in April and a council vote on a finalized Plan in June. Your attendance and voice in these meetings is essential, because: a) the Plan threatens to set City policy for the next decade; and b) the Plan is currently very weak and needs lots of people who care to tell them how completely inadequate it is. Here is my case in a nutshell: 1) Communications users get screwed (on terms of service and/or price) when there is no competition; 2) No one builds a second cable system because it's not economical; 3) No one will build a second fiber-to-the-premises network once one is built, for the same reason; 3.5) Wireless technologies are nice, but they don't scale very well; 4) Open-Access (the ability for competitive service or content providers, e.g. other ISPs or video channels, to have access to customers at non-discriminatory rates) on the infrastructure is needed to have any real competition; 5) Privately-owned infrastructure does not have Open-Access. Portland went to court to try to force Open-Access on cable and lost. There is no Open-Access on FiOS either. Neither the FCC or the US Congress is on users side. Google's fiber project (going to Kansas, in case you missed it) is the lone exception on new infrastructure. 6) So, in the Real World, you need publicly-owned infrastructure to get Open-Access. The only alternatives are extremely unlikely: a) breakup of vertically-integrated communications companies; or b) federal intervention on the side of network users. Frankly, I'd expect to get hit by a meteor first. 6) So, if you want Competition (to keep prices low and terms fair), you need Open-Access. To get Open-Access you need public ownership of infrastructure to ensure Open-Access. So, Competition requires Public Ownership. 7) Portland's Broadband Strategic Plan must recognize and address this problem aggressively (it does not even touch on residential service in its current draft form). If you live in Portland, want fiber someday, and don't want to be perpetually screwed, I urge you to write, attend these meetings, and make your voice heard. -- Russell Senior, President [email protected] _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
