Vermont Gets It
My friend Tom Evslin has the news on his blog. Vermont is the first state in our country to pass legislation requiring adequate cellular and broadband coverage for everyone. Being a rural state, that's a big deal. If you read Tom's post, you might miss the fact that he was actively involved in this process. Well done Tom.
I realize that our country has bigger priorities, like fighting terrorism, finding a way out of our health care mess, getting off our addiction to oil and other carbon based fuels. But we are so far behind other parts of the developed world when it comes to basic access to digital services. Vermont is showing the way. Through a public/private partnership, we can get there. But we need the government to do its part.
New York? When are you going to get going on this?
This is terrific; I'm all in favor of ubiquitous access. However, I wonder how this will affect pricing of these services in VT.
Internet access is on it's way to being another regulated utility, like electricity. Privatization of electricity in CA was a colossal disaster (Enron), so perhaps regulation is a good thing.
Posted by: Andrew Parker | May 13, 2007 at 11:37 AM
read Tom's post--I think the bill gives a dialtone of service provided through competition, and that it's not a regulated government-run utility.
Posted by: Charlie Crystle | May 13, 2007 at 01:50 PM
VT doesn't seem to require common-carrier status as has applied to voice, water, the streets, etc. And speaking of which, have you driven in VT lately?
Sounds like a boondoggle, I'm afraid.
Posted by: DV Henkel-Wallace | May 13, 2007 at 02:49 PM