--- John Souvestre <johns@sstar.com> wrote:
> I don't agree. :-) The City decided to position themselves as > a competitor to BellSouth
and other ISP's (me included). I > don't see anything fair about a tax subsidized monopoly
as a > competitor.
Is this really the case though? First it's not a tax subsidized monopoly it's a service from the
city government. No one would accuse the city of New Orleans of having a monopoly on garbage cans
simply because they provide garbage cans around some areas of the city. This isn’t the same thing
as true public monopolies such as power, gas or water services that we all know and love. There is
no legal impediment, to my knowledge, for a private enterprise to try the same thing.
Second is this really a competitor to your DSL service? The bandwidth will only be 512 kbps until
the city's state of emergency is lifted (whenever that is) and then will drop to a measly 128
kbps. BellSouth has already, apparently, lobbied the state government to pass a law limiting
publicly provided internet connectivity speeds in this way to avoid competition from
municipalities. I think, as i would argue BellSouth does to some degree, that ubiquitous internet
connectivity will only increase people's desire for broadband services.
I do understand you apprehension about this turn of events. If i were in your shoes i could
imagine thinking the same thing.
-k.
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Received on 12/05/05
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