[Hidden-tech] Subways in the hilltowns

Robert Heller heller at deepsoft.com
Wed Sep 28 21:46:06 EDT 2016


At Wed, 28 Sep 2016 20:55:23 -0400 ussailis at shaysnet.com wrote:

> 
> Subways are different than internet or wireline systems=2E (To me wireline=
> 
> and cable are the same thing=2E)
> 

Right "telecom" bundles all of the together.  And the future is going to a 
single "network": the "Internet".  There will no longer be *separate* cable TV 
or telephone network.  It will all be services offered on the Internet 
(streaming video, VOIP, whatever).

> Subways, like roads require land, land, lotsa land, all in one continuous
> piece=2E That requires a municipality to consider what's best for it, and
> "take" the necessary land if it isn't available=2E
> 
> Wireline services only require, at most, poles near the street / road,
> which the municipality already owns=2E=20
> 
> On my street in Florence, the City of Northampton owns 9 feet in from the
> street edge=2E I believe it is actually a measured from the street center
> line=2E
> 
> There are many municipalities in Massachusetts that own their electric
> company=2E Wakefield and Chicopee are two that I know about=2E
> 
> So there is nothing stopping a municipality from owning a internet
> wireline, service utility=2E=20

No there isn't, *BUT* it is very different from how a municipality "owns" 
roads and streets:

Road and street maintaince is covered with tax revenue and the highway 
department (or DPW) is just another department of municipal government.

Municipal electric, gas, and telecom (phone, cable TV, and Internet) services
are owned by a "Municipal Light Plant" (originally just for electric, but
amended to include other services). A "Municipal Light Plant" (MLP) is a
municipally owned "business" that is independent of municipal government. It
gets no tax revenue and does not contribute to municipal government. It must
pay for its expences out of service fee revenues.

Note that all of the *TAs (<mumble> Transit Authorities) are effectivly state
agencies. That is, they are *governmental* entities, and like roads are
heavily subsidized with tax revenue, although most transit authorities do 
collect a fee for services (eg fares). A MLP is NOT a *pure* governmental
entity.  And it is not possible to subsidize a MLP.

> 
> Owning a wireless utility is another different matter=2E That is regulated=
>  by
> the FCC=2E I don't think there is a frequency band available that would al=
> low
> coverage over a reasonable distance to make a wireless system practical=2E=
> 

Actually most fixed wireless systems use *unlicenced* frequencies and power
levels. No FCC regulation. *Distance* is not the issue. Topography is the
problem: hills and trees. Western Mass has too many hills and trees for fixed
wireless systems to work well without so many access points to be cost
effective (vs FTTH) -- you would end up stringing almost as much fiber to
provide a backbone for the access points as you would to just string the fiber
to the homes.



> 
> A place in CA did try many, many WiFi-like nodes=2E It didn't offer useful=
> 
> service=2E
> 
> 
> Jim Ussailis=20
> 
> 
> Original email:
> -----------------
> From: Robert Heller heller at deepsoft=2Ecom
> Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2016 13:48:56 -0400 (EDT)
> To: townwebsites at gmail=2Ecom, Hidden-discuss at lists=2Ehidden-tech=2Enet
> Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] Subways in the hilltowns
> 
> 
> At Wed, 28 Sep 2016 10:35:32 -0400 "Town Websites" <townwebsites at gmail=2Ec=
> om>
> wrote:
> 
> >=20
> > Content-Language: en-us
> >=20
> >=20
> > Well, no=2E  But when subways are built in the city, such as the red lin=
> e
> > which added service porter, davis, and alewife in Cambridge and
> Somerville,
> > property values there went up=2E
> >=20
> > =20
> >=20
> > Why the heck can't the state help the hilltowns by letting them get
> > broadband=3F
> >=20
> 
> Its complicated=2E :-)  The subways are subsdized and people are ok with t=
> hat=20
> (more or less)=2E  And there aren't any sort of private alternitives=2E  T=
> he
> only=20
> "competition" with the subways are the surface streets, which are also
> owned=20
> by the government=2E  So building a subway is something of a nobrainer=2E
> 
> In the case of telecom, there are private companies providing telecom
> services=20
> and the idea of the government jumping in and providing it the same way as=
> 
> the=20
> government provides transportation (eg roads, etc=2E) is seen as unfair to=
> 
> the=20
> private companies providing telecom services, *even though those same
> private=20
> companies providing telecom services* are not in fact providing it in
> certain=20
> areas (because it is not "profitable" to do so)=2E  So, the towns have to=20=
> 
> provide the telecom services *as a fee for service* deal=2E  And do so in =
> a
> way=20
> to be self-suffiencent=2E  Not that the towns doing it is somehow
> "profitable"=20
> (it is not really), but the towns still need to make a small "profit"
> (called=20
> "retained earnings", since there are no stockholders to get dividends or=20=
> 
> anything)=2E =20
> 
> > =20
> >=20
> > Charlie Heath
> >=20
> > =20
> >=20
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> 
> --=20
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