<div dir="ltr">On Sun, Mar 8, 2015 at 9:09 PM, Robert Reese <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ale@sixit.com" target="_blank">ale@sixit.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><div class="gmail_extra"><div class="gmail_quote"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div class=""><div class="h5">Saturday, March 7, 2015, 12:47:08 PM, Brian wrote:<br>
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> On Sat, Mar 7, 2015 at 10:41 AM, Jay Lozier <<a href="mailto:jslozier@gmail.com">jslozier@gmail.com</a>>wrote:<br>
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> To me, the better solution is not allow the there to be local<br>
> monopolies. In many communities, the monopoly exists because local<br>
> governments granted an exclusive franshise to a cable provider. A<br>
> single, local provider in theory means better local control but CobbEMC<br>
> management had been defrauding the members for years. As someone who<br>
> lives in their service area I would love the chance to use someone else.<br>
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> With services like this, you need to have local monopolies on some level, otherwise you'd have a different set of wires running everywhere<br>
> for each service provider, and the streets would be constantly under construction as other providers were installing new lines, etc..., which<br>
> has other negative impacts. This is the reason that exclusive franchises are granted in the first place (often with large tax breaks).<br>
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</div></div>Not at all. When the phone system was opened up, MCI didn't run a new line to my house, nor did Verizon when I switched to them. It all came over the same phone lines.<br></blockquote><div><br><br></div><div>You really need to get your facts straight. Telcos ARE REGULATED AS UTILITIES under Title II, which is exactly the reason that was allowed to happen!! No company would allow competitors to use their equipment unless they're forced to. <br><br>The difference here, as opposed to other kinds of businesses, is that telcos/cablecos got tax breaks in addition to the exclusive contracts. In effect, taxpayers already paid a lot of money for these installations and expect fair service in return. Now that the networks and monopolies are established, these companies want to change their tune and say that they did all this hard work so they should be able to control everything, when in reality that's not what happened.<br></div><div><br> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
Of course, new lines would actually be a good thing: the coax system is overburdened and the wires need replacing anyway. Plus, that gives the fiber folks an opportunity to drop in their lines, too. Nope, construction might be annoying, but it is a good thing in the long run.<br>
</blockquote></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div>❧ Brian Mathis<br></div>@orev<br></div></div></div>
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