What They Are Saying In Texas
What They Are Saying
Johnny Kampis, Taxpayers Protection Alliance: “What local officials often don’t realize when it comes to middle-mile networks is that they are often duplicating the work of private providers and they still have to convince said providers to connect to their middle-mile, which providers are often reluctant to do because they already have their own fiber backbone infrastructure. The last mile is significantly more expensive, too, so creating a middle-mile isn’t a foolproof way to connect the currently unconnected.”
Antong Lucky, CEO & Master Trainer, Urban Specialists OGU Movement: “There’s no time to waste when it comes to connecting our community’s most vulnerable groups, especially when we already have the tools to close the divide now.”
Dr. Roy E. Alston, PhD, Vice President of Security, CHRISTUS Health: “Government-owned networks rarely go as planned and there are countless examples of networks failing and ultimately squandering taxpayer dollars. A government-run network would be a costly mistake, especially when we already have the resources we need to address the city’s digital divide for vulnerable residents.”
Ed Gray, Host, The Commish Radio Show: “Government-Owned Networks, also known as GONs, have become more prevalent in recent years, yet these networks are not getting more people online. We must close the affordability gap and remove the financial barriers that hinder families regarding broadband subscriptions.”
Steve Floyd, Dayton, TX City Manager, in speaking about the city’s municipally-owned broadband project: “This project simply cannot be successful as designed. The service needs to be taken into the county where there is a need. We only have 111 residents hooked up to DayNet; we need 1400 hooked up just to pay the debt service note. These 1400 wouldn’t include any staff, equipment supplies, or technicians for installations. We went door to door with door hangers trying to solicit business. Everyone seems happy with the service they have and has no desire to switch over to DayNet. It will be my recommendation to sell DayNet for whatever we can get for it.”