garagerock
Premium
join:2002-06-14
Louisville, KY
| Dude, WTF?
quote:
BellSouth insists it's just trying to look out for the interests of the local Lafayette taxpayers. Its argument hinges on the fact that the city-owned utility, which is building the network, is a monopoly.
"We're just saying that the local utility ratepayers should not be cross-subsidizing this new business that they want to get into," says McCloskey, the BellSouth spokesman. "They are a monopoly, and they should be regulated like one."
I just had to LOL on this... |
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ronpin
Imagine Reality
join:2002-12-06
Nirvana | Lafayette should apply for Federal anti-terrorist funds to fight BellSouth! |
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SoulBrewGone
join:2005-01-01
Emporia, KS | reply to garagerock
What do you expect from a greedy corporation? |
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nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD
 ·Comcast
| no doubt about it
telecom policy is hosed in the U.S. and I'm not too optimistic about the 1996 Telecom bill re-write.
Telecom policy now seems to be controlled by the ILECs, with liberal use of lawsuits and compliant (ie, easily purchased or easy to fool or both) legislators.
anyone who thinks the '96 bill re-write will favor consumers, raise your hand...
anyone? |
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inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK | reply to ronpin
Re: Dude, WTF?
actually it is Lafayette that will probably be deemed a terrorist.
It must be pretty strange to be held hostage in your own city. |
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micl
Visit Lovely Downtown Port Starboard
Premium
join:2001-10-25
Silver Spring, MD
| reply to garagerock
This is the new doublespeak.
The ILECs have for years turned logic on its head and complained that CLECs under the 96 Act had an unfair anti-competitive advantage under the UNE rules.
Recently FCC Chairman Powell (the biggest bell head there is) called the SBC/AT&T deal a sign of "convergence" a few weeks ago.
Whatever name you call it, I call it bullsh*t.
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If I don't see you in the future, I'll see you in the pasture |
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woody7
Premium
join:2000-10-13
Torrance, CA
 ·EarthLink
·DSL EXTREME
|  Hmmmm.........
As I have stated in previous posts, this isn't about monopoly, subsidising, or any of that shill rhetoric coming from the telcos etc.... it is about that they don't want to be shown for what they are.....lieing, deceitful, money grabbing whores....If the municipalities succeed.....and for a fair price, they are doing what the telcos can't or won't do for whatever reason, and getting it done.....this will make them look bad....they are the reason we are lagging far behind other countries....hell, we should be the standard...end of rant...My brothe lives in Lake Charles, and his cable sux, can we guess why.....
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BlooMe |
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ASG9
join:2003-03-22
Big Easy
| Louisiana hayride
Business as usual for arrangements between corporate entities, politicians and those adverse to change. SBC/BellSouth and COX Communication have to battle this, as any arrangement will reduce their control of the media content and communications market in the south. These companies want to get bigger not smaller. |
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Titus Pullo
I came, I saw, I slept
join:2004-06-26
·Embarq
| reply to nasadude
Re: no doubt about it
Telecom policy now seems to be controlled by the ILECs, with liberal use of lawsuits and compliant (ie, easily purchased or easy to fool or both) legislators.
Tort reform would appear to be a one-way street in BushWorld, huh? Stop signs for citizen class action; green lights for corporations vs citizen interest. Though I'm dubious any municipality has any interest other than private coffers in mind.
Mike "Where do I work now, Daddy?" Powell proved that skilled shills can speak out of all three sides of their mouth on such issues.
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"The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose." -- Frederick Douglass |
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jljohn0605
join:2002-12-30
Arabi, LA | Taxes go up and we all get cheaper svc
I say let Lafayette raise the taxes on everyone so the few can get the cheaper service. Isn't that how big government work? The cajun income redistribution program! |
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ColdFiltered
join:2005-01-25
Atlanta, GA
| Yeah, I have no doubt that the city property taxes will go up. The whole idea of government not competing is a joke. Its already been on the federal level so its no big surprise that the state and local levels want to make people believe they can do it for less AND not have consequences.
I also wonder how much of this is driven by the infrastructure-providers like Cisco, Lucent, Nortel, and others. And I would hate for someone making X as an IT professional to be displaced and wind up making 0.5X as a result.
When was the last time someone low on the civil-servent roster had a decent income? But this is ok. Lafayette can then offer welfare to help pay for that displaced workers cheap broadband. |
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King P
Don't blame me. I voted for Ron Paul
Premium
join:2004-11-17
Inman, SC
·Windstream
·Charter Pipeline
| reply to ronpin
Re: Dude, WTF?
It really ceases to amaze me that the gov't doesn't just tell the Telco's to "SHUT UP". Seriously, Bellsouth could make some serious bank on this. Just let the community roll out the fiber, and then lease the network access from their phone network...but then again, I guess the city could do the same to bellsouth...oh well just get the fiber out! FREE THE FIBER!!!
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Forget 'em, Support the Indies.»www.ind-music.com |
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NPGMBR
join:2001-03-28
Arlington, VA
1 edit | reply to ColdFiltered
Re: Taxes go up and we all get cheaper svc
What you and the poster before you don't seem to realize is the simple fact that if the local government was able to build their system they could then sell that system to SBC and return the profit to the people by cutting taxes or improving other services.
But even better, the government could sell the system to a startup directly competing with SBC for your dollars.
The problem here is that the Telcos and CableCos totally object to any other company being able to get started in their territory without having to ride on their lines ..... why? Because it gives that company a fair chance to compete by building up their system and challenging the TelCos and CableCos without having to play by the TelCableCos rules. And of course that means the end of the TelCableCo regional monopoly control. |
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ossito16
join:2004-07-31
Whiting, IN
·RCN CABLE
1 edit | actions?
Nothing makes me madder than to see a community being told what to do by corporations. Corp america, the so-called hidden 4th branch of govt, must be stopped. If a community wants to take care of itself then let it, anything interfering with communities should be dealt with directly at the source. i.e. CEO's, board of directors, etc. |
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Kearnstd
Elf Wizard
Premium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ | reply to jljohn0605
Re: Taxes go up and we all get cheaper svc
i guess due to how our legal system works the city cant tell bellsouth where to shove their complaining and build the system reguardless? =p
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports |
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taar
join:2000-11-21
·Charter Pipeline
| reply to ronpin
Re: Dude, WTF?
said by ronpin  :Lafayette should apply for Federal anti-terrorist funds to fight BellSouth! LOL!!:D |
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ColdFiltered
join:2005-01-25
Atlanta, GA
| reply to NPGMBR
Re: Taxes go up and we all get cheaper svc
For profit? When the heck has any government in the USA ever sold something it bought and made a profit on it? Seriously, do you think the city of Lafayette, or any other city, has more buying power than a Top 1000 corporation?
And then there is the technical aspects as well. What if your town goes with a platform completely different from what the company you wish to resell it to uses? If I had a company its going to be for profit. If its a publicly-traded company I am running, I have even more people to answer to.
And what is to keep the city commission/mayor/whatever from pocketing the money, make bad business decisions, etc.? What qualifications do they bring? What technical qualifications to they have? Sure, they can screw up and not get re-elected to office/board, but the damage is already done and everyone in that city pays for that usurped officials' mistake.
Just a couple of thoughts. Hey, I am more open (as a taxpayer) to a co-op company like my EMC electrical provider than a government entity. |
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garagerock
Premium
join:2002-06-14
Louisville, KY
| reply to ossito16
Re: actions?
said by ossito16 :Nothing makes me madder than to see a community being told what to do by corporations. Corp america, the so-called hidden 4th branch of govt, must be stopped. If a community wants to take care of itself then let it, anything interfering with communities should be dealt with directly at the source. i.e. CEO's, board of directors, etc. I agree.
For many years, communities had their own water companies, sewer companies, electric companies, etc. Did the regional power concern stop Anytown, USA from hooking up its own power grid 100 years ago? I didn't think so.
Yeah, the local company got bought out by the conglomorate, but did it not serve its purpose by rolling out service to those who needed it, but weren't getting it?
What a world we live in where any corporation can dictate its own market, even if it is above the wishes of the local people/government. |
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NPGMBR
join:2001-03-28
Arlington, VA
1 edit | reply to ColdFiltered
Re: Taxes go up and we all get cheaper svc
So by the nature that no government has ever bought something and sold it for a profit it will never happen? This is your basis for not even trying to bring a service to the people that the TelCableCos wont provide?
No I don't think Lafayette has the money to challenge the TelCableCos, but I do think that a legal challenge by the TelCableCos would not make it through the Supreme Court.
So now your saying local governments don't have the ability or expertise to build and operate such a system? Do you even realize how much work the fedeal government itself contracts out?
What really makes me so sick about this whole issue is that not two weeks ago I saw a news piece of a small town in southern Louisiana (my home state), that just received telephone service. Here in the United States the Bells are finally rolling that damd copper to every inch of the freakin bayou and you can bet you axx its not because they want to bring these communities into the 20th century.
Truth is, they're doing it because people like me see them for what they really are and they know we are fed up with their crap and were showing them by ditching our landlines. |
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zitch
join:2002-07-08
Lafayette, LA
| reply to garagerock
Re: actions?
And that's the crux of the issue. If the municipality wishes to risk taxpayer money for a project (with the backing of those taxpayers), then why should someone from another city care? I would agree with many of the naysayers if this was a Federal or a State plan, but a municipality is much closer to the people it serves. It's easier to hold the city council responsible for their actions then it is for the higher levels of government.
Telecommunications is getting to the point of water, sewage, and electricity in modern times. It is not a "nice to have" as much as a "need to have" to stay afloat in these times. Roads and electricity were much the same at one point. They were "nice to have", but became "required" and needed communities to pitch in to bring those needs to everyone.
What's sad is the costs of this project is not increased by technicalities, but by *legal* costs before it can even get off the ground.
Just imagine the repercussions if this does work out. |
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