Sam-
AOL helped start this pot boiling and yet so many want ATHM to go to bed with them. Give them their way because they whined the loudest?
<Another possibility is a municipal overbuild. A source close to the situation said early respondents included a California-based firm specializing in helping local governments to fund and build their own telecommunications networks.
"And the mayor is on record as saying that's something we would look at," the source added.>
In an era where even NASA is considering privatization these guys want to start their own municipal government owned and operated BB network...right. Their statement seems mighty inflammatory to me trying to turn the heat up.
<"We have a company withholding broadband access," Portland franchising director David Olson said. "The FCC keeps saying that there's plenty of broadband competitors out there. Well, rather than sitting on our hands, let's find out.">
I'll bet this guy is great at irritating folks at meetings. In other words, Mr. Olson is saying to AT&T, in effect, spend all your doe on making the system, assuming the risk and let anyone on who wants to be on because we say so, or else. Whats next? Oh, and we don't think you should be able to charge too much either. Free Market?
The FCC and BB providers have said suits like this will gum up the works- and they are. Heck, why don't we just go back to the pony express days...
So, the ultimate question if you are an ATHM sharholder may be, 'Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?' IF AOL merging, somehow, with ATHM and others WILL help quell this slippery slope it may have to happen. Does open access have enough momentum to live on its own though already? Its starting to look so.
Thanks for the article Sam.
|
