How can it be that the big companies who deliver some of the most important services in our modern lives (access to the Internet, television) rank at the top of the most hated? Probably because when they screw up or increase prices year after year, we have no choice but sticking with them. Most of us have no better options.
But why do we have so few choices? Government-sanctioned monopolies have been outlawed since the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Unfortunately, the natural tendency of the telecommunications industry is toward consolidation and monopoly (or duopoly). In the face of this reality, the federal government has done little to protect citizens and small businesses from telecom market failings.
But local governments have stepped up and built incredible next-generation networks that are accountable to the community. These communities have faster speeds (at lower prices) than the vast majority of us.
Most of these communities would absolutely prefer for the private sector to build the necessary networks and offer real competition, but the economics of telecom makes that as likely as donuts becoming part of a healthy breakfast. In most cases, the incumbent cable and telephone companies are too entrenched for any other company to overbuild them. But communities do not have the same pressures to make a short-term profit. They can take many years to break even on an investment that creates many indirect benefits along the way.
One might expect successful companies like AT&T and Time Warner Cable to step up to the challenge posed by community networks, and they have. Not by simply investing more and competing for customers, but by using their comparative advantage - lobbying state legislatures to outlaw the competition. As we noted in our commentary and video last week, massive cable and telephone companies have tried to remove local authority to build networks.
These companies frequently claim they are at an unfair disadvantage when they have to compete against a broadband network owned by the local government. This claim resonates strongly with some politicians, particularly those who happen to receive a lot of campaign contributions from big telco and cable companies -- as recently demonstrated in Wisconsin. They say they just want a "level playing field."
We decided to take a deeper look. We compared Time Warner Cable to Salisbury, North Carolina -- which built one of the newest community fiber networks - to see who is at a disadvantage.
Big companies like Time Warner Cable have some big advantages over any community that decides to build a network. Of course, communities do not build their own networks on a lark, they do it because they need fast, affordable, and reliable networks for economic development and maintaining a high quality of life.
But a better comparison goes beyond simply the scale of the competitors in order to complete a more meaningful comparison. For that, we created our "Level Playing Field" video:
There should be no doubt that massive incumbent cable and phone companies have a monopoly on the "unfair" advantages in telecommunications. Fortunately, community networks have a host of local advantages and often superior technology with which to invest in the networks they need. The question is whether Congress and the states will protect the right of communities to choose for themselves if a local community network is necessary.
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I dropped cable 2 years ago, bought an antenna, and never look back.
Also AT&T has been building fiber networks locally. I must say the new competition has pushed Comcast to actually *care* about their customer, or at least pretend to.
And with the access EPB provides, especially for the price, it's been very attractive to some fairly large tech companies.
Competition is ALWAYS a good thing and its pretty neat our local power board (which is basically a government run company created by TVA) was the company that really pushed it into the future, especially as far as access is concerned. Hopefully this trend will continue and carry on to more cities across the country. If a small-medium sized city like Chattanooga can accomplish this there is no reason other cities cannot as well.
If you want a network locally, you can start conversations with activists, local leaders, businesses, etc., about the need for a broadband network that is locally accountable.
You can donate money to groups like mine that operate on a shoestring and have to go up against companies measuring their revenues in the tens of billions.
You can help us create art and graphics to convey the importance of local accountability in essential infrastructure.
If there is any logic in a bit of government running a network that isn't a net drain on taxpayer $ then the same logic would empower a Mom & Pop ISP to do the same. So the playing field is tilted towards public sector networks after all ?
Florida law makes it harder than in other states to build these networks, but there are options. You'll want to find others who are interested (the Google Gigabit initiative helped form such groups in many communities). Small/Med businesses that need better options are especially helpful as the big cable/phone companies will try to paint this as "public v. private" when it is really "terrible monopoly vs. local ownership."
To get a sense of what options you have, it will help to collect (if you can) data about what connections are currently used for schools, libraries, local government, public safety, etc. Odds are that they are overpaying on leased lines or have an old Institutional Network through the cable franchise... if it is an I-Net, odds are that it is insufficient and will go away when the franchise is re-negotiated. At that point, the city will need a better network for its needs anyway.
These are some starting points, feel free to contact me through MuniNetworks.org or @community nets to followup.
First step is to get some folks together who are interested in the same thing. Google gigabit discussions produced these groups in many communities already and some are working toward a community network after not having been chosen.
Seek out local businesses that need better broadband (they are often most concerned about reliability). Find out how much the schools, libraries, and local gov spend on meeting their telecom needs and how they do it. Odds are that they lease lines and would save a lot by owning their own network.
Feel free to contact me directly for more details.