Rendell caves and signs HB30 - Verizon can prevent municipal networks statewide

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "David A. Maltz" <dmaltz () cs cmu edu>
Date: December 1, 2004 10:33:30 PM EST
To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>, dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] Rendell caves and signs HB30 - Verizon can prevent 
municipal networks statewide

I'm guessing I've been quoted on IPers, so please let me first correct 
the attribution of the text that may have been posted under my name.  I 
quoted that material from the Dec 1, 2004 issue of FierceWireless by 
Stephen Wellman <stephen () fiercewireless com>,  www.fiercewireless.com

--On Wednesday, December 01, 2004 5:05 PM -0500 Declan McCullagh 
<declan () well com> wrote:

> I don't believe this claim is true. The law applies only to
> municipalities providing Internet service in return "for compensation" 
> --
> that is, a fee that subscribers would pay. This is Verizon's reading as
> well, they told me today.

Pennsylvania, like most states, has a number of home-grown municipal 
broadband initiatives, both wired and wireless.  In places like 
Kutztown and Bedford these municipal networks have been meeting local 
demand, often exceeding the service level provided by other companies 
even in more populated parts of the state.  This law limits the 
business models under which additional municipal networks can start up, 
making it harder for them to do so by adding the uncertainty of a 
potential legal challenge to the already substantial technical and 
financial risks.

I believe there is a world of difference between "for compensation" and 
'for profit'.  Any municipal corporation installing and operating a 
network, wired or wireless, may incur real costs and it seems to me 
that they should not be precluded by state law from recouping those 
costs in whatever manor the residents of the municipality see fit.  
Whether to chose to tax themselves, rely on donations, or charge a fee 
could have been left as a matter for the local residents to decide.

Dave Maltz

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