Community Broadband – Page 10 – Baller Stokes & Lide, PC

Deceptive Myths About Municipal Broadband

By Jim Baller

In October and November of 1906, when electrification was the must-have new technology of the era, Moody’s Magazine invited the leading advocates and opponents of municipal electric utilities to write chapters for a special issue. The opponents contributed the following chapters: “Municipal Ownership Costly and Dangerous,” “Municipal Ownership a Delusion,” “Municipal Ownership Uneconomic,” “Why Municipal Service is Expensive,” and “Municipal Ownership Always a Failure.”

With the benefit of hindsight, we know that everyone on of these claims was wrong.

Seattle Task Force Report

The Internet has sparked a communications revolution that will accelerate as advanced voice, data and video services emerge. Interactive, high-speed broadband networks with the capacity to deliver next-generation applications will become essential to businesses, schools, health care providers, government and individuals. Such a network is not available to most of Seattle today. If Seattle is to compete in the new world of enhanced communications, it must have an affordable, open, universally available, state-of-the-art broadband network.

Lafayette responds to first Heartland Institute paper

Heartland makes five main arguments against public FTTH systems: (1) there is no need for municipal entry because robust competition exists among private-sector broadband providers, which are currently meeting, and will continue to meet, America’s broadband needs; (2) there is no evidence that municipal investments in broadband technology lead to faster economic growth
or higher personal incomes; (3) the private sector is more efficient that the public sector; (4) municipal projects typically encounter higher than expected costs and large operating losses borne by taxpayers; and (5) municipal broadband networks are very risky ventures. None of these contentions holds up under analysis.

Glenn Fleishman unmasks industry “sock puppets”

This is pretty remarkable, but the New Millennium Research Council and Issue Dynamics are defending their paid work on behalf of their incumbent telecom and cable customers directly. No pretense, no hiding. They want their cake and eat it, too.

Broadband and Economic Development: A Municipal Case Study From Florida

In this paper, George S. Ford and Thomas M. Koutsy explore whether broadband investment by municipalities has an effect on economic growth. To do so, they employ an econometric model to compare economic growth in Lake County, Florida, with other similar Florida counties. In 2001, Lake County – a small county in central Florida – began generally offering private businesses and municipal institutions access to one of Florida’s most extensive, municipally-owned broadband networks, with fiber optic connections to hospitals, doctor offices, private businesses, and 44 schools. Lake County has experienced approximately 100% greater growth in economic activity – a doubling – relative to comparable Florida counties since making its municipal broadband network generally available to businesses and municipal institutions in the county.

Economist John Kelly responds to Rizzutto and Wirth

This paper provides evidence that municipally owned and operated cable television enterprises are financially viable and provide large rate savings to their communities. The findings contradict allegations in Costs, Benefits, and Long-Term Sustainability of Municipal Cable TelevisionOverbuilds, a 1998 paper authored by Ronald J. Rizzuto and Michael O. Wirth, that such enterprises are likely to be poor investments for cities.

WiFiNetNews responds to alleged municipal failures

Philadelphia has delayed releasing its detailed plan for a wireless broadband infrastructure from early February to an unknown time. There’s a missing piece in this coverage that I wanted to mention: Dianah Neff keeps saying “broadband” while Comcast and Verizon say “broadband” and they don’t mean the same thing.

Does Municipal Supply of Communications Crowd-Out Private Communications Investment?

There are 2,007 municipalities across the United States that provide electricity service to their constituents. Of these, over 600 provide some sort of communications services to the community. An important policy question is whether or not public investment in communications crowds out private investment, or whether such investment encourages additional entry by creating wholesale markets and economic growth.

USA Today editorial supports Lafayette fiber project

Lafayette, a city of 116,000 in southwest Louisiana, has plenty of Cajun spunk. Creativity, too. Just ask telecommunications giant BellSouth, which is trying to block Lafayette’s plan to save its citizens’ money and time by giving them high-speed access to the Internet.

USA Today feature on Lafayette fiber project

To hear BellSouth talk, high-speed fiber lines are the way of the future. So why is it so determined to stop Lafayette, La., a rural community in the heart of Cajun country, from installing its own fiber?

Columnist admits serving as Comcast’s consultant

Post-Election Fallout at ‘Kane County (Ill.) Chronicle’ Over Columnist’s Role In Chicago’s far west suburbs, a prominent newspaper columnist was also doing PR work for Comcast, which was publicly opposing a local ballot measure.

Jim Baller responds to SBC’s examples of supposed municipal failures

In its written testimony to the Indiana legislature in support of HB 1148, SBC claimed that “the landscape is littered with examples of misjudgments and miscalculations by local government officials who, understandably, bought into the Field of Dreams scenario.” SBC gave seven examples. Not one was correct or supported SBC’s position.

Jim Baller responds to Progress & Freedom Foundation’s 2004 “study”

P&FF maintains that public entities should not enter the communications because they have numerous unfair advantages over their private-sector counterparts. Citing two earlier studies and three new case histories, P&FF also maintains that public communications ventures are likely fail. None of these arguments has merit.

APPA responds to common industry myths

More than 2,000 communities across the country have created public power systems—not-for-profit electric utilities that are owned by the communities and the people they serve. Public power systems share a common purpose—to provide adequate, reliable service at a reasonable price. They are locally owned and operated, giving citizens a direct voice in utility decisions through public meetings, the ballot box, and open policy board meetings. Across the country, not-for-profit utilities have an established track record of delivering affordable services. Nearly 500 of them have already celebrated 100 years in business, with 70 percent of all public power systems serving communities of less than 10,000 people.

Study of Economic and Community Benefits of Cedar Falls, Iowa’s Municipal Telecommunications Network

The purpose of this study was to investigate the economic growth and quality of life benefits a municipal communications system stimulates. Data was collected to compare the level of activity within two adjoining communities, Cedar Falls and Waterloo commonly referred to as the “Cedar Valley”. The specific areas measured include economic development (business recruitment, business retention and expansion), enhanced education, improved healthcare, competitive advantages and population growth. The following presents the findings in each of these identified areas.