Kevin's point is a good one: The body theoretically is the Metropolitan Council. Whether the Council sees their role growing or diminishing in our lives is a point of debate. But the Council oversees things like Sewer and Transit Operation and Development. Unfortunately, I think the State would have to empower the Council for that type of role regarding telecommunications, and then the whole thing would get mired in the State Legislature. Ironically, the Met Council was the body that at one time oversaw the development of Metro Channel 6, the regional cable channel.
To Charlie's point: It's unclear if any future Saint Paul system would be able to connect with a Minneapolis system. I would hope that's a value that decision makers on both sides of the river can agree with. Another aspect of the Minneapolis RFP that's not mentioned is the City is also looking for wireless services for its governmental units. This adds a layer of complexity to development of any system that goes beyond City boundaries. Mike Wassenaar 2nd Post of the Day West End -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kevin Marshall Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2005 2:11 PM To: M Charles Swope; stpaul@mnforum.org Subject: Re: [StPaul] Wired St. Paul ---snip--- > Wouldn't it be better to join with Minneapolis and > create a single system with a single payment that > will work in both places? > Charlie Swope > Ward 1 > Charlie, (replying to a direct message) Your point is right on. What we're building is a network. Metcalf's law states that the value (or "power") of a network increases in proportion to the square of the number of nodes on that network. [Its worth mentioning that this is a rule-of-thumb kind of law like Moore's law (processor speeds (density) double every 18 months) rather than a law of physics.] As an example, compare the Internet to old-style AOL or Compuserve. The Internet was open and had more nodes (think web addresses) and quickly overwhelmed the closed off subscriber-only AOL. So a network that includes Mpls & St. Paul is "worth more" than 2 separate networks. If only there was a regional governmental body that spanned the whole Twin Cities metro area. Ideally, that body would have experience building and maintaining a network of some kind. Funny, when you think about it, it seems that government often has had a role in building (or kickstarting) previous networks. Think water, sewer, bus, cable, phone(?), electric(?). Why do I suspect that the current minimal (anti-?) government climate will cause us to miss this opportunity? Kevin Frogtown W1P4 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------- JOIN the St. Paul Issues Forum TODAY: http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/ ------------------------------------------------- POST MESSAGES HERE: stpaul@mnforum.org To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ ------------------------------------------------- JOIN the St. Paul Issues Forum TODAY: http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/ ------------------------------------------------- POST MESSAGES HERE: stpaul@mnforum.org To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
