[Hidden-tech] Subways in the hilltowns

Robert Heller heller at deepsoft.com
Wed Sep 28 13:48:56 EDT 2016


At Wed, 28 Sep 2016 10:35:32 -0400 "Town Websites" <townwebsites at gmail.com> wrote:

> 
> Content-Language: en-us
> 
> 
> Well, no.  But when subways are built in the city, such as the red line
> which added service porter, davis, and alewife in Cambridge and Somerville,
> property values there went up.
> 
>  
> 
> Why the heck can't the state help the hilltowns by letting them get
> broadband?
> 

Its complicated. :-)  The subways are subsdized and people are ok with that 
(more or less).  And there aren't any sort of private alternitives.  The only 
"competition" with the subways are the surface streets, which are also owned 
by the government.  So building a subway is something of a nobrainer.

In the case of telecom, there are private companies providing telecom services 
and the idea of the government jumping in and providing it the same way as the 
government provides transportation (eg roads, etc.) is seen as unfair to the 
private companies providing telecom services, *even though those same private 
companies providing telecom services* are not in fact providing it in certain 
areas (because it is not "profitable" to do so).  So, the towns have to 
provide the telecom services *as a fee for service* deal.  And do so in a way 
to be self-suffiencent.  Not that the towns doing it is somehow "profitable" 
(it is not really), but the towns still need to make a small "profit" (called 
"retained earnings", since there are no stockholders to get dividends or 
anything).  

>  
> 
> Charlie Heath
> 
>  
> 
> 
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net
> Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net
> 
> You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list.
> If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members   
> page on the Hidden Tech Web site.
> http://www.hidden-tech.net/members
> 
>                                                                                 

-- 
Robert Heller             -- 978-544-6933
Deepwoods Software        -- Custom Software Services
http://www.deepsoft.com/  -- Linux Administration Services
heller at deepsoft.com       -- Webhosting Services
                        


Google

More information about the Hidden-discuss mailing list