Originally Posted by longislander
I'm confused.
"NHEC doesn’t need to finance, own or operate a fiber network to facilitate others to develop systems. It just needs to make attaching fiber to NHEC poles straightforward, predictable and affordable."
NHEC already has fiber on its poles; not its fiber, but fiber from telephone, cable, companies, and probably some segments for wireless companies.
I built a new house, here, on Moultonboro Neck Rd., and had to pay for the two poles on my property for the electric service. On the poles with metal plate that states NHEC, not the phone company. I also have Spectrum's cable and the phone company's cable (Consolidated Consumer). Obviously, those poles are connected to infrastructure poles on the street. Fiber has been used for years by the phone companies and cable companies, and placed on poles in the "right-of-way". I can remember when I worked for Fairpoint, when they bought NH, ME, and VT from Verizon, the millions spent by Fairpoint to put out fiber on the poles, and replace copper.
Is this petition suggesting to have NHEC install fiber on poles, even though it cannot use fiber to service electricity to homes and business????
Petition:
"BROADBAND QUESTION
Shall the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative amend Article II of its Certificate of Organization dated 18 July 1939 by adding the words “including facilitating access to broadband internet for members” to make the amended article read as follows:
The purposes for which the Association is formed are to generate, purchase, transmit and distribute electrical energy and to render any and all other services in connection therewith including facilitating access to broadband internet for members as provided in Section 3-a of the “Co-operative Marketing Law”.
Does that exclude non-members?
COOP "laws" are meaningless, relative to state and federal law, not to mention the PUC .
The biggest problems I had with poles, was who is going to own ... phone company or NHEC. Phone company had to be chased to get poles here, but to be installed by NHEC. Had to be pay for the poles, and the copper wire ($22/ft.) to NHEC, and I still had to pay "lease" fees to the phone company for my landline.
I'm getting @ 325-350 Mbps from Spectrum for broadband. I canceled landline, and went back Voice-Over-IP for phone with Spectrum; much less costly. I purposely had the three lines, cable, phone, electric on the electric poles for possible future market competitions; e.g., Gfast for the present DSL which is too slow for my liking.
Need to keep an eye on wireless (fixed and mobile) and satellite broadband (not today's), as well, for competition.
Need poles and fiber ... time and markets will tell.
If the bylaws mention install electric lines only, what's wrong with that, at this time? That doesn't mean it can stop other companies from installing on the poles, when the public good requires it. State and federal laws make that happen, and have.
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