TubEfingers
Well-known member
Maybe a stupid question but what are the pro's and con's of this?
Repeal of "Net neutrality"?
- Thread starter DLD
- Start date
That is very difficult to say. I can't find any non-biased reports. There are reports from both sides either saying it is a failure or a success.
Pro - equal access to all neighborhoods, regardless of income.
Con - Inefficient and expensive to operate, likely to behind in technology
The real problem is that a municipality will always be behind the curve of technology and cost. Broadband is not a one-time investment. Broadband investments are continuous and expensive. The telephone and cable companies have rebuilt their networks several times as technology has changed. They have large resources to evaluate and leverage the vendors for highly favorable pricing. So much so, that municipalities pay what is called full-victim pricing that may be 2x what the telcos pay for equipment. When you're building a network that covers the top 100 markets and 1/3 of the states, that gets president, all the vice presidents, the top sales, and marketing staff full attention around the clock and on the weekends. When you are one municipality, you get one salesman from the third tier sales force.
The municipality has to hire a staff from the telco or cable industry that has expertise. That expertise quickly fades as they are no longer connected to the large enterprise that has resources to stay on top of, and twist the arms of the vendors to build things to precise needs. The municipalities have to take off the shelf offerings.
A municipality will make this investment with what is currently at hand and then be left behind when the next generation technology comes along. 5G is going to be revolutionary (a term not used lightly here). Since no one has to dig up neighborhoods or get access to telephone poles (with the exception of the cell tower points) many more competitors are going to play. 5G will not be just a mobile phone service. It will become the offering for all broadband access.
Its not clear to me what a municipality can offer that will be better than 5G. Since 5G should become quite ubiquitous because it will be for phone and internet. The municipality can only sublease service from an existing service provider (they're not going to buy spectrum) and if they do that, then their coverage is no better than that of the primary vendor.
Pro - equal access to all neighborhoods, regardless of income.
Con - Inefficient and expensive to operate, likely to behind in technology
The real problem is that a municipality will always be behind the curve of technology and cost. Broadband is not a one-time investment. Broadband investments are continuous and expensive. The telephone and cable companies have rebuilt their networks several times as technology has changed. They have large resources to evaluate and leverage the vendors for highly favorable pricing. So much so, that municipalities pay what is called full-victim pricing that may be 2x what the telcos pay for equipment. When you're building a network that covers the top 100 markets and 1/3 of the states, that gets president, all the vice presidents, the top sales, and marketing staff full attention around the clock and on the weekends. When you are one municipality, you get one salesman from the third tier sales force.
The municipality has to hire a staff from the telco or cable industry that has expertise. That expertise quickly fades as they are no longer connected to the large enterprise that has resources to stay on top of, and twist the arms of the vendors to build things to precise needs. The municipalities have to take off the shelf offerings.
A municipality will make this investment with what is currently at hand and then be left behind when the next generation technology comes along. 5G is going to be revolutionary (a term not used lightly here). Since no one has to dig up neighborhoods or get access to telephone poles (with the exception of the cell tower points) many more competitors are going to play. 5G will not be just a mobile phone service. It will become the offering for all broadband access.
Its not clear to me what a municipality can offer that will be better than 5G. Since 5G should become quite ubiquitous because it will be for phone and internet. The municipality can only sublease service from an existing service provider (they're not going to buy spectrum) and if they do that, then their coverage is no better than that of the primary vendor.
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