Muni Broadband is a Viable Business
April 5, 2006 by Mary Wynne-Wynter
IP Democracy April 04, 2006
F2C Panelists: Muni Broadband is a Viable Business
(Silver Spring, MD)
As the number of municipal broadband initiatives mount, skeptics await what they believe will be the inevitable collapse of these government-backed ventures. Although it’s relatively easy to build communications networks, running them in a financially viable manner is another matter altogether, the doubters say. But a group of muni-broadband proponents and industry representatives speaking here today at the Freedom-to-Connect (F2C) conference countered that proposition, pointing to a number of factors that make muni-broadband networks a success.
Among the muni-Wi-Fi models out there are ad supported networks, such as that proposed by Google in San Francisco, subscriber-sponsored services, typified by EarthLink’s Wi-Fi efforts, municipally sponsored services and private networks run for the sole benefits of cities, among other models.
Muni-broadband attorney Jim Baller said a key factor to the recent surge in muni-broadband activity is growing acceptance by the public. “A key factor to success is that the public is getting it.” Again, one thing holding back muni-broadband is anti-competitive behavior by the incumbents, Baller contended, with some phone companies undermining laws that permit municipalities to launch broadband services. Antitrust actions against these trouble makers, however, is not an option.
Municipalities, on the other hand, could take the lead by building fiber-to-the-premises networks. “Municipalities may be the broadband savior,” Salter said. Atlantic Engineering has built 53 muni-fiber projects and “the average market share for these guys is between 50% to 60%. People flock to them because the service is so much better.”