[173241] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: Muni Fiber and Politics
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Matthew Kaufman)
Mon Jul 21 15:26:34 2014
X-Original-To: nanog@nanog.org
In-Reply-To: <CAJvB4t=8k0tQGvnq5ZoKCicwNpER_aTqnBtqB0cck8cSTW7kwQ@mail.gmail.com>
From: Matthew Kaufman <matthew@matthew.at>
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 12:26:24 -0700
To: Blake Dunlap <ikiris@gmail.com>
Cc: NANOG <nanog@nanog.org>
Errors-To: nanog-bounces@nanog.org
I think the difference is when the municipality starts throwing in free or h=
ighly subsidized layer 3 connectivity "free with every layer 1 connection"
Matthew Kaufman
(Sent from my iPhone)
> On Jul 21, 2014, at 12:08 PM, Blake Dunlap <ikiris@gmail.com> wrote:
>=20
> My power is pretty much always on, my water is pretty much always on
> and safe, my sewer system works, etc etc...
>=20
> Why is layer 1 internet magically different from every other utility?
>=20
> -Blake
>=20
>> On Mon, Jul 21, 2014 at 1:38 PM, William Herrin <bill@herrin.us> wrote:
>>> On Mon, Jul 21, 2014 at 10:20 AM, Jay Ashworth <jra@baylink.com> wrote:
>>> Over the last decade, 19 states have made it illegal for municipalities
>>> to own fiber networks
>>=20
>> Hi Jay,
>>=20
>> Everything government does, it does badly. Without exception. There
>> are many things government does better than any private organization
>> is likely to sustain, but even those things it does slowly and at an
>> exorbitant price.
>>=20
>> Muni fiber is a competition killer. You can't beat city hall; once
>> built it's not practical to compete, even with better service, so
>> residents are stuck with only the overpriced (either directly or via
>> taxes), usually underpowered and always one-size-fits-all network
>> access which results. As an ISP I watched something similar happen in
>> Altoona PA a decade and a half ago. It was a travesty.
>>=20
>> The only exception I see to this would be if localities were
>> constrained to providing point to point and point to multipoint
>> communications infrastructure within the locality on a reasonable and
>> non-discriminatory basis. The competition that would foster on the
>> services side might outweigh the damage on the infrastructure side.
>> Like public roads facilitate efficient transportation and freight
>> despite the cost and potholes, though that's an imperfect simile.
>>=20
>> Regards,
>> Bill Herrin
>>=20
>>=20
>> --
>> William Herrin ................ herrin@dirtside.com bill@herrin.us
>> Owner, Dirtside Systems ......... Web: <http://www.dirtside.com/>
>> Can I solve your unusual networking challenges?
