B
Premium,MVM
join:2000-10-28
| The Money is NOTHING
Some of you folks are awfully short-sighted.
While $1,800 does seem quite high, it's barely the loaded cost of A SINGLE SALARIED EMPLOYEE of any kind.
For providing broadband to an entire city, that cost is RIDICULOUSLY cheap. Only fools would (a) fail to properly advise citizens of the availability and then (b) pull the plug in so miserly a fashion.
For the cost of a single cafeteria employee or sign painter...
-- B
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In a realm outside causality and function |
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bmn
? ? ?
Premium,ExMod 2003-06
join:2001-03-15
hiatus
| said by B  :Only fools would (a) fail to properly advise citizens of the availability and then (b) pull the plug in so miserly a fashion. Indeed... I'm betting that it was poor communication on the part of the organizers that caused so few people to use the system. If people don't know its there or WHAT it is, they aren't going to use it...
Also, this IS NOT a good example to use to show that municipal networks should not be built...
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
 ·Comcast
1 edit | said by bmn :Also, this IS NOT a good example to use to show that municipal networks should not be built... Sure it is. The network failed. And not only did it fail, but the City of Orlando owes its taxpayers an explanation as to why such a network was built in the first place without the public knowing about it. Heck, how the heck is a wireless network which doesn't charge for access supposed to pay for itself anyway?
The taxpayers are now out of extra money that could have been used for other services. Taxpayers would not have become involuntary investors into this network had a private company tried it out, and likewise they would not be out extra money had such a venture failed.
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Hey Fast Eddie... you're next! |
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23153443
join:2001-01-13
Westminster, MD
| reply to B
This was in a limited area of downtown Orlando, and an (admittedly lame) attempt to draw people there instead of the cash vacuum to the southwest. I seriously doubt that many people who go to "Orlando" actually spend much of their time in the city and especially downtown. More likely they are in Lake Buena Vista (Disney) and Kissimmee to the SW and Orlando only sees them at the airport.
$1800 a month is pretty cheap for a commercial setup. Anyone know what that paid for (and isn't guessing)? |
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bmn
? ? ?
Premium,ExMod 2003-06
join:2001-03-15
hiatus
| reply to pnh102
said by pnh102 :said by bmn :Also, this IS NOT a good example to use to show that municipal networks should not be built... Sure it is. The network failed. Well, considering this isn't a municipal broadband network, this instance isn't comparable to a project like LUS in Lafayette, LA or some other city.
Sorry...
Of course, if I used your "logic," we could say that hotspots in general shouldn't be attempted because this one instance failed.
And not only did it fail, but the City of Orlando owes its taxpayers an explanation as to why such a network was built in the first place without the public knowing about it. And you know this how ?
Heck, how the heck is a wireless network which doesn't charge for access supposed to pay for itself anyway? If you had read the article, you would have seen that this was a trial. Without knowing the FACTS (which haven't been released) about any plans to recoup the costs after the trial was over (making people pay for a trial wouldn't have been very wise), the question is purely "academic."
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| said by bmn :Well, considering this isn't a municipal broadband network, this instance isn't comparable to a project like LUS in Lafayette, LA or some other city. How is it not a municipal broadband network? Last I checked, Orlando is a municipality and wifi is a form of broadband, ergo it's a municipal broadband network.
said by bmn :Of course, if I used your "logic," we could say that hotspots in general shouldn't be attempted because this one instance failed. Huh? There are plenty of private companies which run wireless hotspots without reaching out into taxpayer pockets. Some succeed, some fail, but either way the only people who are at risk are those who voluntarily chose to invest in the companies running the hotspots.
said by bmn :And you know this how ? Umm... the article summary makes that very clear. The city of Orlando paid for the network and only 27 people used it.
said by bmn :If you had read the article, you would have seen that this was a trial. Without knowing the FACTS (which haven't been released) You're accusing me of not knowing the facts after reading the story here and then you now admit you don't know them yourself? Here's a simple lesson in business:
Profit = Sales - Overhead
If Sales is 0, and overhead is greater than zero, then you are recouping nothing. The fact remains that this municipal broadband network was nothing but a burden to the taxpayers of Orlando and the money could have been better spent on other things. Of course, when the city has a steady stream of revenue from its taxpayers, its very easy for it to spend money on things which are of no use to anyone, such as this municipal broadband network.
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Hey Fast Eddie... you're next! |
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bmn
? ? ?
Premium,ExMod 2003-06
join:2001-03-15
hiatus
| said by pnh102 :said by bmn :Well, considering this isn't a municipal broadband network, this instance isn't comparable to a project like LUS in Lafayette, LA or some other city. How is it not a municipal broadband network? Last I checked, Orlando is a municipality and wifi is a form of broadband, ergo it's a municipal broadband network. Actually, its a hotspot run by the city, not a broadband network in the strictest sense of the term...
Again, from a technical standpoint, this is not comparable to other muni projects (FTTH, etc.) where SUBSCRIBERS PAY to access the network (something that may have happened in this case after the TRIAL period ended).
said by bmn :And you know this how ? Umm... the article summary makes that very clear. The city of Orlando paid for the network and only 27 people used it.
Business lesson: Poor adoption is not always the fault of people not knowing about it...
said by bmn :If you had read the article, you would have seen that this was a trial. Without knowing the FACTS (which haven't been released) You're accusing me of not knowing the facts after reading the story here and then you now admit you don't know them yourself? Here's a simple lesson in business:
I, at least, acknowledge the limits of my knowledge... I stated what is known and what isn't while you've made statements and claims on facts and evidence that aren't available...
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