This is an excellent article succinctly describing all of the issues around municipal broadband. I hope they succeed so it spreads to other communities and dissolves the federal government sponsored monopolies we have now with Time Warner, Comcast, and others. Go Wilson, NC!
Normally I'd make some argument about how Big Government has no real motivation (i.e. money) to supply a better product and private enterprise is better qualified, but the current state of the telco companies make that argument impossible. 10mbit fiber for $35/mo, no caps, and no packet sniffing? Where do I sign?
this is great now, but what about in 10 years when you're still stuck with a 10mbit connection because the city has a monopoly and competing telcos are offering 100mbit lines?
Well, first off, they already offer 100mbit lines. Which as far as I know, no current telco does. Secondly, the answer to your question should be obvious: if the private business is doing it better, switch back to them. There is no exclusivity here; the local government has just shamed the shit out of the telcos (for now) by offering a far better product. I guess you could masochistically choose the worse provider...
if it truly is a case where the city isn't regulating but instead simply competing with the telcos and beating them that's great. I'm just paranoid because the government has the legal right to enforce whatever they can get away with.
This is why Democratic orthodoxy on healthcare policy is to allow citizens to "buy into" Medicare. Premiums at every private firm would plummet and coverage would expand.
if this is true it is something i can support. free competition is the defining feature that has created the standard of living we enjoy. it is also the only thing that will bring that standard of living to the 3rd world. never ending aid doesn't fundamentally improve conditions.
