City's fiber project goes to a vote

The fate of a citywide fiber-optic project will be in voters' hands on Saturday as Lafayette, La., residents go to the polls to decide on a bond offering that will fund the project.

The city of 116,000 residents known for its vibrant Cajun culture has been planning to build its own fiber-optic network for more than a year. But local phone company BellSouth and cable operator Cox Communications have challenged the city-owned utility, which plans to build and operate the network.

After a legal tussle earlier this year, a special election was called to decide whether or not the city could issue $125 million worth of bonds to fund the project.

If Lafayette is successful in winning support for its network, it could help rally citizens in the 14 states where municipal networks have already been banned or limited, said Joey Durel, president of Lafayette Parish.

"What the cable and phone companies do a lot better than provide service to customers is work politicians," he said. "Unless towns like Lafayette get moving, I'm afraid that more states could pass laws limiting these kinds of networks. If this referendum passes here in Lafayette, I think we'll start to see some states undoing those laws."

Lafayette isn't the only city that has faced resistance from incumbent phone and cable providers when it wanted to build its own communications network. City officials across the country including some in Provo, Utah; Palo Alto, Calif.; and Philadelphia also have faced strong opposition from local phone and cable companies when they proposed building their own networks.

These cities view building their own network as a way to bring their citizens faster broadband connections at cheaper rates, narrowing the so-called digital divide. But the Bell phone companies and cable operators argue that government intervention in their business is not justified and say they are far better equipped to operate complex and far-flung data networks.

"We believe Lafayette is already well-served by Cox and BellSouth," said David Grabert, a spokesman for Cox.

Millions of dollars have been spent lobbying state legislators and fighting court battles on both sides of the debate.

The issue has become so heated in recent months that two separate bills have been introduced at the federal level. U.S. Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., have introduced a bill that would guarantee cities the right to build municipal communications networks.

On the other side of the debate, U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, recently introduced a bill that would ban cities from running communications networks that compete against private-sector telecom companies. Sessions, a former SBC executive, argues that local governments should not compete with private companies.

Durel said he is hopeful that the referendum will pass but that the city is unlikely to give up its fight even if the measure is voted down.

"If we happen to lose this vote, we'll regroup and see what our options are," he said. "The project won't be dead, at least not for me."

Cox's Grabert would not specify what his company's next move might be if the referendum passes and the city moves forward with its plans to build the network.

"We agree that the community should have an opportunity to weigh in on the decision," he said. "And regardless of what happens, we'll still provide the same quality service we always have."

[Remo_Williams]

Cox said they are well-served?

But... but... doesn't the CITY OF LAFAYETTE decide that? I'm stunned. I can't believe a spokesman for Cox would actually have the nerve to tell the citizens of that city what their opinion should be.

Cox deserves the metaphorical punch in the mouth.

-R

Are we well-served?

That Cox remark can be taken in more than one way. Some of us may have been served, alright, thought not exactly as Cox means.

Bellsouth cannot provide me DSL because I am -- literally -- the last house on the twisted pair. Too far. On my nickel I've tried DSL twice and twice Bellsouth cannot provide minimum bandwidth, let alone the higher-bandwidth options.

I am currently on Cox's highest tier Internet service. It's nice. I also pay a (relatively) hefty price for it, too.

From my point of view, I don't have any other reasonable choice for high-speed Internet service; it's Cox Highspeed Internet or nothing.

That's "well-served"? I don't think so.

I am voting YES for fiber.

By the way, one topic not adequately covered is the fact that the fiber service will be owned by the same group that owns the electrical power service provider in Lafayette, LA -- Lafayette Utility System -- which is owned by the citizens of Lafayette, LA.

We've had a fiber loop around the city for a couple of years now and some businesses have tapped into it. This will, literally, hook normal folks into the loop and provide that long-awaited "last mile".

I've talked to anyone who would listen and explained why they should vote YES tomorrow.

Bellsouth and Cox want this defeated for obvious, though spurious reasons. I strongly suspect this will turn out well for fiber. Joey Durel has so far done a remarkably good job leading Lafayette and I join others in standing behind him on this issue.

John LeBlanc
Lafayette, LA

[Razzl]

"Private company"?!?

Give me a break, cable tv networks are monopolies franchised by the Federal government and imposed on states and communities without their participation back in the late 70's. These companies were given the right to serve exclusive territories and their regulation, unlike the regulation of utility companies, was mostly kept out of the hands of the individual States. The result was widespread public unhappiness with the price, programming, and governance of these companies which persists to this day. The current drive by municipalities to operate their own internet services reflects public unhappiness with the current deregulated telecom scheme which The Feds have imposed on them. The people are turning to the one level of government they control to provide them with the services they want, in defiance of the plans of the big-money guys in Washington...