



Socialized municipal offering handily beats out local commercial competitors











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Not the whole story
By amanojaku on 9/14/2010 1:22:19 PM , Rating: 2
I submitted this article last night after reading it on Yahoo News, and am surprised that link was not included. There is more to the story that might quiet the people claiming this service is socialism and unfair to capitalism. It's actually an intelligent offering that could be duplicated by private companies. If they weren't so damn greedy.

EPB is a utility, which means it has a presence in every part of it's government's jurisdiction (Chattanooga). It happens to be a government-owned utility (booo!!! hissssss!!! I know, I know...) but that is not true of all utilities. My electricity provider, ConEd, is private and could offer this service, too. How?

EPB is much more advanced than most utilities. It has a grid that has been upgraded several times since 2000, and a fiber network throughout the city to monitor the grid. And that is the same network it is providing the gigabit service over. In fact, EPB provides phone and cable over the grid-monitoring network, as well. Since the fiber network already existed, or went up when new electrical lines were deployed, the cost for becoming an Internet provider was lowered significantly.

Compare that to ConEd, which still sends someone to my building to read the meter, because there is no fiber for monitoring. It was seen as an achievement when the meters were moved from the apartment to the basement, so you didn't have to stay home from work when ConEd came around. This was seven years ago. In Manhattan.

EPB buys its electricity from Tennessee Valley Authority because it doesn't generate its own. As a result of intelligent outsourcing, the reduced focus on obtaining power has been directed toward optimizing it's services and lowering operating costs. EPB has obtained numerous grants for building infrastructure ahead of schedule, which is something that is rarely seen in a public or private company. Or a government one. Apparently, EPB is unique in that it has great services, great pricing, and a great track record. Public, private, or government owned, this place is a model of efficiency compared to its peers.

RE: Not the whole story
By DanD85 on 9/14/2010 2:01:59 PM , Rating: 2
It seems smart socialism beats stupid, greedy, anti-competitive capitalism hand down.

RE: Not the whole story
By amanojaku on 9/14/2010 2:27:42 PM , Rating: 2

RE: Not the whole story




RE: Not the whole story


