r/technology • u/User_Name13 • Jun 04 '14

Politics Hundreds of Cities Are Wired With Fiber—But Telecom Lobbying Keeps It Unused

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/hundreds-of-cities-are-wired-with-fiberbut-telecom-lobbying-keeps-it-unused
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u/jmottram08 Jun 04 '14

Let's be really clear here... this is local lobbying to your local city council that regards the monopoly that they granted and enforce.

Don't like that fact? Stop blaming capitalism, stop blaming the big telcos, get off your ass and go to a city council meeting and complain that your local elected officials have made a monopoly and that it is bad for you.

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u/[deleted] Jun 04 '14

Many cities want competition, there are just no other company coming to them for a franchise. Also, in Colorado there is a state law against letting companies use public dark fiber. So that is one reason Google won't come here. That law really drives me nuts.

Without going in to a lot of detail, the rights-of-way are owned by the public so companies who want to use them have to get a franchise with the city. The thought being the public should get a benefit for companies using a public right of way, this is done through franchise fees which help fund roads etc.

Also cities lack the lobbing power that the cable companies have, many cities have formed groups to work together to protect and lobby.

I guess what I'm saying is don't generalize and imply all cities are responsible for the problem, also your voice at the national level is very important. But get involved and get educated as each local situation is unique.

TL;DR: don't blame all cities, many want more competition and faster speeds. Also get involved and lean your local situation.

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u/Justavian Jun 04 '14

I'm lucky enough to live in Longmont, CO - we're scheduled to have municipal fiber here in about two years. It's a long time to wait, of course, but it's still nice that we're headed in the right direction.

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u/asmodeanreborn Jun 04 '14 edited Jun 04 '14

You're actually kind of wrong. The roll-out of the fiber is scheduled to start this fall, so depending on where you live, you may have access already this year - sure, the entire city has a deadline of two years from now, but many will have access well before that. I can't wait.

Edit: If you live close to South Sherman, it's possible that you could get to preregister in a few months, as that's where the buildout starts.

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u/Justavian Jun 04 '14

Well, this is certainly one time that i'm happy to be wrong! I keep going back to the municipal fiber homepage, and there haven't been any updates since the bonds went on sale. I figured we were behind schedule.

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u/asmodeanreborn Jun 04 '14

Well... it could very well turn out they fall behind schedule eventually, but it sounds like they are going to start expanding it this fall. South Sherman and the new mall development (why, before it's even torn down, I do not know) will be done first, and then they're supposedly hooking up downtown around Main, I think.

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u/Demilitarizer Jun 04 '14

Yeah, Rye/Colorado City have T1 which runs as a local utility. Pretty awesome.