[wplug] Net Neutrality: Three Questions

[David Ostroske]

On 10/19/06, Brian W. Snyder <brian at brianwsnyder.com> wrote:
> David Ostroske wrote:
> <snip>
> > Infrastructure development is a tough problem. Laying conduit does
> > cause troubles; ask anyone who's been forced to tap into municipal
> > water and sewage against their will. No wonder local authorities have
> > such difficulty, and it's not a problem that I can see a simple
> > solution to. I'd advocate competitive bidding for building and
> > long-term maintenance contracts, but that's just a gut feeling, based
> > on what's worked for highways.
>
> ....and we all know what quality highways we have here in PA. Long-term
> maintenance, however, IS something PA highways excel in.

Heh... I should have mentioned that it wasn't PA highways I was
thinking of. You can tell from the way your car rattles when you've
cross the border! :)

Countries in Europe and states like New Mexico do these sorts of
contracts, and they've worked well for them.

Maintenance of cable conduits at the local level, though, is a
different matter. Getting infrastructure up and running takes some
effort, and unlike highways, there's no great need to plan from too
high up to get a connection working locally. There's room for
competition, but someone has to get something started (probably
something small to begin with) before larger plan can be laid.

-- 
David Ostroske <eksortso at gmail.com>