[Cialug] Iowa Municipal Telecom Legisation

[Michael Osten]

On Feb 22, 2005, at 5:55 PM, Dave J. Hala Jr. wrote:

> On Tue, 2005-02-22 at 17:05, Michael Osten wrote:
>> On Feb 22, 2005, at 4:43 PM, Dave J. Hala Jr. wrote:
>>
>>> I don't agree that a having a municipal service would limit choice.
>>
>> If a municipal service can operate at a loss subsidize by tax dollars
>> (which most of them do) how could you possibly expect competition?
>
> Some break even. Some lose money. Some have competitors. I compete
> against companies that work for free. I'm making a living. Cost is not
> always the controlling factor.
>

When the government comes in and says that you need to give half of 
your earnings to the government but your competition doesn't you would 
be able to make that analogy.

What you are not understanding that no matter what the competition is 
at a disadvantage because of regulation.  This is not simple.  This is 
not a situation where the government is breaking up a monopoly.  It is 
simply not fair for government to force telcos to build infrastructure 
based on a utility service regardless of profit potential, regulate and 
tax said service and then open the market to a unfair competitor 
offering the same product with no such encumbrances.  Remember that 
even right now the line between internet and telephone is blurred, and 
in a few years, it will be one in the same.

If there really is such a need for infrastructure, why are the 
governments taking it over and not deregulating and opting for free 
market competition?  Simple, because no one sees a profit potential 
with what is involved.

> I agree that a telco and a muni ISP would operate under different sets
> of rules. However, change is the nature of the beast. Don't take this
> the wrong way, but have you seen a telco do anything truly innovative 
> in
> the last five years?  Competition is a good thing no matter where it
> comes from.

I agree that telco's play technology safe.  But what do you expect?  
Throw away billions of dollars of copper in the ground?  Would you like 
them to run (insert buzz tech carrier medium) every five years to keep 
up with technology?  You don't, because quit simply, no one wants a 
$10000 monthly phone bill.  The infrastructure was laid out for phone 
service with the expectation by both private business and government 
that it would take *a long time* to pay for it's self.  Without this 
promise, you probably wouldn't have phone service right now, we'd still 
be communicating via a telegram office instead of email.


--
Michael Osten
http://www.bleepyou.com/~mosten/pgp.txt