Palo Alto: no to broadband network?

July 25, 2005

My first blog entry was pretty harsh and I stand by my entry.� However, I am not a wholesale advocate of every municipality building their own networks to offer broadband to their residents.

(One thing that absolutely sticks in my craw is when anyone - regardless of their position on a subject - grotesquely distorts facts and figures�to the point where they become mere fantasy.� I favor�zealous advocacy, not�nonsense.)��

Anyway, I believe that municipalities,�particularly those�located in rural areas,�should have the opportunity to consider building their own broadband networks if: service providers haven't reached their borders or there is only one high cost private option.

After all, many view broadband as a necessity for local economies and as a�link to the rest of the world.

For example, residents in Lafayette, La.�last week overwhelmingly�approved the issue of $125 million in bonding�so a utility company�could build a broadband network.

Where one town�views offering broadband to its citizens as a necessity, others may conclude that such�projects are not as important or too costly.

Officials in Palo Alto, Ca., for example., are prepared to�put an end to�deliberations over�building a fiber-optic cable network after years of research and debate, according to a report published Friday by Palo Alto News Online.� http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=1601

According to the report, city officials do not believe�that the proposed $40 million project can be or�should be funded�through bonding.�

If the City Council chooses not to pursue the project further, residents involved in a 70-home trial since 2001 will also lose out on their high-speed broadband services, which cost each household�approximately $85 per month.

The City Council�should determine the fate of the network at a meeting tonight.

If the city so chooses, fantastic.��Administrators and officials were at least permitted to make an educated�choice as to whether to pursue a municipal broadband network.�