Comments on: Senators can't agree on municipal broadband rules

Amid multiple proposals, politicians can't agree on whether municipalities offering broadband service should be applauded.

[ORinSF]

Let them decide locally; Muni wi-fi is still a bad idea

Although I believe that municipal Wi-Fi is a government boondoggle, it is certainly not the role of the federal government to say what can and can't be done at the local level. Although a prohibition of muni wi-fi would be just fine from my position, the feds can only wield a blunt instrument. Better that they stay out of it.

States are probably within their rights here, and the federal government should not be overturning state legislatures' decisions. Muni wi-fi is almost certainly a market destroyer, but let them figure that out for themselves.

[markdoiron]

It's About Infrastructure

Each municipality has a vested interest in providing a good infrastructure (sewer, water, etc) to its citizenry. This is a communications infrastructure. Let each municipality work out its own solutions while remaining accountable to its voters. And keep the states and the federal governments out of it.

mark d.

[rcrusoe]

YES!

I couldn't have said it better.

[aabcdefghij987654321]

What's best may depend on your community

If your community is a small town that the phone company has scheduled broadband implementation 20 years down the road (if they've scheduled it at all) then a municipal effort makes sense. If you're in a big city where you already have three or more companies struggling with each other over customers then I'd say a municipal system is probably a bad idea.

Letting the Federal Government impose another "one size fits all" solution is the worst possible thing that could happen.

[ordaj]

BROADBAND SCANDAL

"...which are investing billions of dollars to build networks..."

It's a lie.

http://www.newnetworks.com/broadbandscandals.htm

http://200billionscandal.typepad.com/200_billion_broadband_sca/2006/02/network_neutral.html#more

http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=562

http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=559

[lingsun]

Yeah, right. The earth is flat too.

Yeah, right. The earth is flat too.

[bamabrad]

States' Rights....

Where in the constitution does it SPECIFICALLY give this right to the FEDS over the States?

[lingsun]

Better to outlaw muni wi-fi

I hope they outlaw municipal wi-fi. The whole thing is a government scam where the taxpayer ends up paying 2, 3, or 10 times the actual market price for the service. I'm sure it will create another legion of overpaid government workers that will soak the taxpayer. And this is a freebie for the higher income people. I don't think the poor will be accessing the internet on their wi-fi compatible laptops. I'm sure very few poor people have laptops or even old desktops.