Obama proposes Gigabyte Cities Across America

[AvgGuyIA]

ETA: should be Gigabit, not Gigabyte

Obama travelled to Cedar Falls, Iowa today to talk about allowing cities and towns to build their own high speed internet utilities to provide cheap high speed internet to compete with private ISPs people are forced to use because they're the only ISP in town. 20 years ago, Cedar Rapids did just that and Obama wants their model expanded everywhere.

He will expand upon his plan next Tuesday in his SOTU speech. I listened to him on the radio WMT 600 and could not find a problem with this. He wants to clear the road and remove current regulations and State laws to allow cities to build their own internet backbones.

Your thoughts? It doesn't sound like an Obamacare scheme, it will be up to locals to create their own ISPs.

 

[ogibillm]

Obama travelled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa today to talk about allowing cities and towns to build their own high speed internet utilities to provide cheap high speed internet to compete with private ISPs people are forced to use because they're the only ISP in town. 20 years ago, Cedar Rapids did just that and Obama wants their model expanded everywhere.

He will expand upon his plan next Tuesday in his SOTU speech. I listened to him on the radio WMT 600 and could not find a problem with this. He wants to clear the road and remove current regulations and State laws to allow cities to build their own internet backbones.

Your thoughts? It doesn't sound like an Obamacare scheme, it will be up to locals to create their own ISPs.

Sounds good to me. We pay far too much for far too little, and a lot of it is the fault of local government rules regarding cable companies and other providers. Since i don't see any real way to share the necessary infrastructure to allow for real competition i think the best way forward is to treat internet service like we do water, gas, electricity and sewer

 

[OnePercenter]

Cox Communication (and my company) are already doing just that, at no cost to the public. Vegas, San Diego, and Phoenix will be fully wifi'd by the end of this year. Ready for wireless cable TV?

 

[AvgGuyIA]

The only way I can get high speed internet in Davenport is to bundle it with Mediacom, our cable provider. I'd love to get my TV from Direct TV or other satellite provider, but then I'd have to pay more for Mediacom high speed internet or settle for what the phone company provides, which isn't high speed.

If I could get cheaper high speed, then my my choices for TV providers would expand greatly. This sounds like a win to me, maybe not for my current Cable provider however.

 

[AvgGuyIA]

Cox Communication (and my company) are already doing just that, at no cost to the public. Vegas, San Diego, and Phoenix will be fully wifi'd by the end of this year. Ready for wireless cable TV?

Are you saying the non Cox homes will get free wifi throughout the city?

 

[hipeter924]

In most apartment buildings there is little choice, you can only get Comcast or Verizon or their equivalents. Rural areas can be even worse and only have one provider. So I can see the advantage of such a scheme, though it would take several years to see the benefit.

 

[OnePercenter]

Cox Communication (and my company) are already doing just that, at no cost to the public. Vegas, San Diego, and Phoenix will be fully wifi'd by the end of this year. Ready for wireless cable TV?

Are you saying the non Cox homes will get free wifi throughout the city?

Yes. Last month it started for subscribers, by the end of 2015 it will be unlocked for everyone.

Cox WiFi Hotspots Cox Communications

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

For a couple of years now, I have gotten my internet for free from my condo.

 

[AvgGuyIA]

For a couple of years now, I have gotten my internet for free from my condo.

I don't want my internet free or shared with others like I was accessing my bank accounts using McDonalds wifi. After all, I'm not a communist. I just want a cheaper alternate.that competes with my current ISP.

 

[thereisnospoon]

ETA: should be Gigabit, not Gigabyte

Obama travelled to Cedar Falls, Iowa today to talk about allowing cities and towns to build their own high speed internet utilities to provide cheap high speed internet to compete with private ISPs people are forced to use because they're the only ISP in town. 20 years ago, Cedar Rapids did just that and Obama wants their model expanded everywhere.

He will expand upon his plan next Tuesday in his SOTU speech. I listened to him on the radio WMT 600 and could not find a problem with this. He wants to clear the road and remove current regulations and State laws to allow cities to build their own internet backbones.

Your thoughts? It doesn't sound like an Obamacare scheme, it will be up to locals to create their own ISPs.

Good idea. Now what's the catch? My thinking is a federal subsidy paid for by current users. Not the kind of plan I'd support.
Government should say out it. THat is ave for any rollback of regulations which make it more difficult for new companies to enter markets where rules have prevented the local monopolies.
Of course, just today, I read a story dateline Kansas City.....Time Warner cable in response to the new Google Fiber service there, has rolled out MAXX III cable converters which have SIX tuners and TWC has also rolled out 300 MBPS download speeds to their customers at no additional charge. THIS is called "competition".....

 

[thereisnospoon]

Obama travelled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa today to talk about allowing cities and towns to build their own high speed internet utilities to provide cheap high speed internet to compete with private ISPs people are forced to use because they're the only ISP in town. 20 years ago, Cedar Rapids did just that and Obama wants their model expanded everywhere.

He will expand upon his plan next Tuesday in his SOTU speech. I listened to him on the radio WMT 600 and could not find a problem with this. He wants to clear the road and remove current regulations and State laws to allow cities to build their own internet backbones.

Your thoughts? It doesn't sound like an Obamacare scheme, it will be up to locals to create their own ISPs.

Sounds good to me. We pay far too much for far too little, and a lot of it is the fault of local government rules regarding cable companies and other providers. Since i don't see any real way to share the necessary infrastructure to allow for real competition i think the best way forward is to treat internet service like we do water, gas, electricity and sewer

Internet is not and never should be considered a public utility. If that ever happens, what we have now will become far more costly and ISP's will all but cease new investment in infrastructure and technology.

 

[QuickHitCurepon]

For a couple of years now, I have gotten my internet for free from my condo.

I don't want my internet free or shared with others like I was accessing my bank accounts using McDonalds wifi. After all, I'm not a communist. I just want a cheaper alternate.that competes with my current ISP.

We don't share with anyone but have our connection from a line in the wall.

 

[ogibillm]

Obama travelled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa today to talk about allowing cities and towns to build their own high speed internet utilities to provide cheap high speed internet to compete with private ISPs people are forced to use because they're the only ISP in town. 20 years ago, Cedar Rapids did just that and Obama wants their model expanded everywhere.

He will expand upon his plan next Tuesday in his SOTU speech. I listened to him on the radio WMT 600 and could not find a problem with this. He wants to clear the road and remove current regulations and State laws to allow cities to build their own internet backbones.

Your thoughts? It doesn't sound like an Obamacare scheme, it will be up to locals to create their own ISPs.

Sounds good to me. We pay far too much for far too little, and a lot of it is the fault of local government rules regarding cable companies and other providers. Since i don't see any real way to share the necessary infrastructure to allow for real competition i think the best way forward is to treat internet service like we do water, gas, electricity and sewer

Internet is not and never should be considered a public utility. If that ever happens, what we have now will become far more costly and ISP's will all but cease new investment in infrastructure and technology.

something needs to be done, because right now there isn't alot of competition. i have one high speed provider available, so i'm pretty much at their mercy. why should that be?

 

[Old Rocks]

Rank Country/Territory Avg. connection speed (Mbit/s)
1

Hong Kong 96.26
2

Singapore 94.29
3

South Korea 79.67
4

Romania 62.25
5

Lithuania 47.93
6

Sweden 46.57
7

Switzerland 46.56
8

Macau 44.88
9

Netherlands 44.19
10

Jersey 43.86
11

Moldova 43.85
12

Andorra 42.64
13

Iceland 42.46
14

Latvia 41.71
15

Denmark 41.64
16

Taiwan 41.53
17

Luxembourg 36.77
18

Monaco 34.98
19

Iceland 34.87
20

Belgium 34.16
21

Norway 34.03
22

Estonia 33.75
23

Bulgaria 33.70
24

Liechtenstein 33.5

List of countries by Internet connection speeds - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Looks like we are #27. At least that ranks higher than our health care system.

 

[JWBooth]

And when the State controls (regulates) the means of access, the State has the means to control (regulate) the content.

 

[Old Rocks]

I do believe that what the President is suggesting is something like the local PUD's. The experiance I have had with those is less costly electricity and better service.

 

[WinterBorn]

I worked on the project building the fiber optic system for EPB (power company owned by the city of Chattanooga TN). It is a pretty awesome system, with good speeds, good video capabilities, and priced to be competitive. And, from what my son says, you can get 1 Gigabit speeds for around $60 to $70 a month. Lots of bandwidth too, so the slowdown during peak hours is far less than a regular cable system.

 

[OnePercenter]

Rank Country/Territory Avg. connection speed (Mbit/s)
1

Hong Kong 96.26
2

Singapore 94.29
3

South Korea 79.67
4

Romania 62.25
5

Lithuania 47.93
6

Sweden 46.57
7

Switzerland 46.56
8

Macau 44.88
9

Netherlands 44.19
10

Jersey 43.86
11

Moldova 43.85
12

Andorra 42.64
13

Iceland 42.46
14

Latvia 41.71
15

Denmark 41.64
16

Taiwan 41.53
17

Luxembourg 36.77
18

Monaco 34.98
19

Iceland 34.87
20

Belgium 34.16
21

Norway 34.03
22

Estonia 33.75
23

Bulgaria 33.70
24

Liechtenstein 33.5

List of countries by Internet connection speeds - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Looks like we are #27. At least that ranks higher than our health care system.

My speed test just done shows 105 Mbps down and 75 Mbps up.

 

[Manonthestreet]

Why not just eliminate the the monopolies cable co's have......

 

[AvgGuyIA]

ETA: should be Gigabit, not Gigabyte

Obama travelled to Cedar Falls, Iowa today to talk about allowing cities and towns to build their own high speed internet utilities to provide cheap high speed internet to compete with private ISPs people are forced to use because they're the only ISP in town. 20 years ago, Cedar Rapids did just that and Obama wants their model expanded everywhere.

He will expand upon his plan next Tuesday in his SOTU speech. I listened to him on the radio WMT 600 and could not find a problem with this. He wants to clear the road and remove current regulations and State laws to allow cities to build their own internet backbones.

Your thoughts? It doesn't sound like an Obamacare scheme, it will be up to locals to create their own ISPs.

Good idea. Now what's the catch? My thinking is a federal subsidy paid for by current users. Not the kind of plan I'd support.
Government should say out it. THat is ave for any rollback of regulations which make it more difficult for new companies to enter markets where rules have prevented the local monopolies.
Of course, just today, I read a story dateline Kansas City.....Time Warner cable in response to the new Google Fiber service there, has rolled out MAXX III cable converters which have SIX tuners and TWC has also rolled out 300 MBPS download speeds to their customers at no additional charge. THIS is called "competition".....

Obama never said anything about the Feds subsidizing internet. He'd just get regulations rolled back and state laws overturned that prevents competition. I have a rental house in Kansas city kansas. I wasn't sure if the Google backbone pilot (fastest in the world?) was installed yet.