From <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LUSFiber">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LUSFiber</a><div><br></div><div>**</div><div><p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; ">
In 2004, the city announced its proposal for a municipal fiber network providing broadband internet, cable tv telephone services to the City of Lafayette. 70 percent of residents, and 80 percent of businesses responded positively to a market survey conducted by LUS. The city's telephone and cable to providers, <a href="/wiki/BellSouth" title="BellSouth" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 43, 184); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">BellSouth</a> and <a href="/wiki/Cox_Communications" title="Cox Communications" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 43, 184); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Cox Communications</a> pushed for state legislation preventing local governments from providing these services. Then-Governor<a href="/wiki/Kathleen_Blanco" title="Kathleen Blanco" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 43, 184); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Kathleen Blanco</a> brought both sides together, and crafted the Local Government Fair Competition Act, making it possible for local governments to run fiber networks.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; ">However, Lafayette wasn't in the clear yet. The state cable association, along with BellSouth, sued Lafayette, wanting the city to hold a public referendum. After losses in the district and appeals courts, Lafayette moved to hold a referendum. The big firms were trying to kill the proposal, knowing that by law, the city couldn't run its own promotional campaign. However, that law didn't apply to citizen's groups, and soon, the grass roots group Lafayette Coming Together came to the project's support. The group launched a campaign explaining to benefits of fiber-to-the-home to the residents of Lafayette.</p>
</div><div>**</div><div><br></div><div>But the good folks of Lafayette, LA,</div><div>did prevail, and can now get 50 Mbps</div><div>Internet service for $58 a month. </div><div>100 Mbps service is available. </div><div>
<br></div><div>The courts said, in effect, that the</div><div>locals could spend their tax money </div><div>any way they wanted to. The big</div><div>companies both would not have </div><div>provided fiber, and didn't want the</div>
<div>locals to either, but I think this now</div><div>sets a precedent.</div><div><br></div><div><div>I met a fellow during a trip to Texas </div><div>who is from Lafayette, and has the</div><div>50 Mbps - something Comcast will</div>
<div>sell you over co-ax for $190 a month.</div><div>He said the town is seeing economic</div><div>benefits as well, attracting businesses</div><div>who use a supercomputer facility in</div><div>town. Peer to peer rates are 100 Mbps,</div>
<div>presumably if you have the 100 Mbps </div><div>service. One movie company that </div><div>shoots in the town uses the computer</div><div>facility.</div><div><br></div><div>Anyway, it's not clear whether other</div>
<div>towns could duplicate this achievement.</div><div>GR could not even bring off a 1.5 Mbps</div></div><div>WiFi system. But for those towns and</div><div>cities that have the foresight and </div><div>management to install fiber, and don't</div>
<div>want to be wallflowers and wait and hope</div><div>that Google hands them something, </div><div>Lafayette has shown the way.</div><div><br></div><div> -- Bob</div><div><br></div>