DailyWireless editor, Sam Churchill [that would be me], testified at the state capitol for a hearing on House Bill 2445. That bill would require cities in the state of Oregon to file a 3 year cost analysis and bring the decision to a vote when any public telecommunications service is offered. It doesn’t ban municipal communications networks.
I thought it was a bad bill, restricting the development of municipal networks. I think Muni Nets are a good thing (generally). They lower costs for taxpayers.
So I traveled down to the state capitol in Salem, Oregon. The bill had it’s first hearing this morning. If a bill passes the first hearing, it may have a second, then go to the other side of the house for additional hearings. Then it goes to the governor for signing into law.
I basically view communications from a consumer perspective. Cheap and reliable broadband is good. Expensive and monopoly broadband is bad.
It’s a simple philosophy.
There were about 100 people in the hearing room, mostly from cities saying it was bad legislation. The picture above shows Wasco County officials who just hooked a big fish with Google after building their downtown municipal fiber network. They said it would have never been built if HB 2445 was the law in Oregon.
The public hearing was thoughful and interesting. Below is my testimony.
To: Business, Labor and Consumer Affairs Committee
From: Sam Churchill, DailyWireless.org
Re: Testimony on HB 2445
Date: February 23, 2005Thank you Committee members for this opportunity to speak.
My name is Sam Churchill. I am the editor-in-chief of DailyWireless, a weblog out of Portland which covers cellular, WiFi, WiMax and satellite news. I have published over 3,500 articles on-line and have no financial interest in any of these technologies.
I believe HB 2445 would hurt the business climate of Oregon.
Here’s why:
- Municipal fiber attracted Google to The Dalles. The municipal network was a collaborative effort by three public entities, Northern Wasco County PUD, Wasco County and the City of The Dalles.
- Umatilla’s 700 Square Mile WiFi cloud protects citizens from accidental releases from The Umatilla Chemical Weapon Incineration program. It allows public service agencies to download maps, monitor highways and use interoperable messaging.
- A regional WiFi network covers 60,000 people in parts of Walla Walla, Columbia, Franklin, Benton and Umatilla counties. Water monitoring can save millions/year. Columbia Rural Electric Association (REA) and Columbia Energy built the Vivato long-range network for farmers who monitor irrigation equipment in the field and for people who have no cable or DSL service.
- Ashland Fiber provides 3 competing ISPs for residents. Another six ISPs serve businesses. They provide consumers with 3 to 5 megabit data services for $20/month. Ashland Fiber is also tied into Ashland Unwired, which provides a WiFi “cloud” for businesses in the community.
- Intel VP Sean Maloney encourages commercial ISPs and public agencies such as city governments and municipalities to work together on broadband infrastructure. “Sole responsibility, either from government or a single carrier, of a city’s wireless network is not the best solution for growing the market,” he says.
Cities across the nation are facing a dilemma – mobile terminals in police cruisers need broadband connectivity (for ID photos and maps). But cellular data is expensive. Municipalities can save taxpayer money with WiFi or WiMax. Broadband infrastructure can be leased to competing ISPs. It stimulates local economies.
Phone companies and cellular companies oppose this competition. But competition saves money. It provides better service. HB2445 raises the cost of public services. Telcos defeated a municipal fiber proposal in Chicago with blanket advertising and outright lies when it came up for a vote. HB2445 would encourage that sort of thing. Who benefits?
I’m skeptical of HB 2445. Independent ISPs provide competition – not big telcos.
Thank you,
Sam Churchill
Portland, OR
| The hearing on HB 2445, sponsored by Representatives Tom Butler (R-Ontario) and Mike Schaufler (D-Happy Valley), to restrict municipal broadband in Oregon, was held February 23th, in the Oregon State Capitol (hearing room #B) in Salem, Oregon. A written and A/V transcript will be available online shortly Real Audio (2hrs). |
Meanwhile, on the first day of hearings on Texas House Bill 789 which contains restrictions on municipal broadband, the legislature heard testimony from large corporations. Savemuniwireless.org has more.
