December 4, 2003

GUEST COLUMN

Public utilities can fill gap in Internet service

Charlie Lieby and Henry Veleker

The Wisconsin Legislature should be commended for taking the lead in promoting high-speed Internet access across our state. Our economic future depends on it.

But a bill scheduled for a hearing next week doesn't help reach that goal. In fact, the measure (SB 272) is a solution looking for a problem.

Supports of the bill assert that taxpayers will be subsidizing the startup and operations of municipal owned cable and advance telecommunications systems. In Waupaca, where we started such a system, our experience has been different.

In December 2000, Centerline Machine came to city government for help. Centerline needed broadband to do business, but the telephone and cable companies offering broadband wanted to charge more than Centerline could afford to pay.

Centerline asked the city for help. The city extended the cable company's backbone to the local business park at city expense. That way, Centerline and other businesses could benefit from the project.

The cable provider didn't respond to an offer to get involved. So from this set of circumstances came the birth of WaupacaOnLine.net (WOL.net). WauapcaOnLine.net is a high-speed broadband Internet service based on wireless technologies. After extensive study, public information meetings and financial planning, the public-owned communication utility started in October 2002 and now has more than 175 customers.

But here's what's most important: No taxpayer dollars fund this system's operation.

WOL.net provides broadband services to businesses and residences that had none. It also gives area consumers a choice in service: Before there was none.

Arguments against this model are hollow. Any citizen, business, telephone or cable incumbent provider can call city offices today, and find out our budget, review actual monthly financial statements, salaries for the people working on the project, our line costs, and more.

The WOL.net board is the city council, not some faceless group located two states away. When customers have a complaint, they come to our local office. If they don't like rates or service, they can take their case to elected officials. Customers don't have to dial up some distant call center.

The Legislature should embrace public entry into the market for cable and advance telecommunications services, not build barriers - as SB 272 will do. The bill is not a solution to the market failure taking place at this time in rural areas such as Waupaca.

This legislation is the 11th attempt in four years to stave off the creation of publicly run communications utilities in Wisconsin. Prior legislative attempts would have disallowed creation of these utilities entirely. The current bill is more subtle. While it would not outright prevent creation of public communications utilities, it nonetheless creates barriers to entry - in violation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.