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July 31, 2006
Muni Broadband: Another One Bites the Dust
Marc Kilmer, Buckeye Institute research associate, reports that the city of Lebanon, Ohio, is in discussions with Cincinnati Bell about unloading its municipal broadband system, which has racked up $9.8 million in debt.
The system launched in 1999, Lebanon became one of the first towns to attempt to compete with the local cable TV company. Year after year, costs outpaced return.
The failure of Lebanon’s telecommunications business illustrates why governments should not compete with private enterprise. When Lebanon was considering this venture, there was no indication that the city had the expertise or resources necessary to compete with a large multi-national corporation like Time Warner Cable.
The city’s grand plans looked good on paper, but the government soon found that the market demands results that the city could not deliver. So now the city is sitting on a telecommunications system that loses money every year and is $9.8 million in debt.
The city may realize that with advances in technology, the market for providing video services will soon become much more competitive. Phone companies are poised to enter the market with video services over their fiber optic lines. This means consumers will see more choices and lower prices through increased competition. The city-run system in Lebanon was struggling when it competed against just Time Warner. The prospect of more competition would be disastrous for that system.
Lebanon defends its venture by pointing out that cable television prices were lowered by the entry of the city-run system into the market. While cable prices are indeed lower in Lebanon due to competition, these lower prices have been subsidized by the taxpayers of Lebanon. Competition is indeed good, but this competition should not be subsidized by taxpayers.
Kilmer’s wrap-up is here. The news follows just weeks after a Buckeye report, authored by Kilmer, examining the fiscal and legal problems Lebanon’s municipal netowk has faced since Day One.
Posted by steve.titch at July 31, 2006 02:45 PM
Not much on my mind. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me , but shrug. Whatever. I feel like a void.
Comment by: Sten11329 at January 25, 2007 09:03 AM
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Basically nothing seems worth thinking about. I haven't been up to much these days. I just don't have much to say right now. I can't be bothered with anything , but whatever.
Comment by: Sten14377 at January 26, 2007 08:11 AM
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I just don't have much to say recently. Such is life. I've basically been doing nothing. Basically nothing seems worth bothering with. Oh well.
Comment by: Sten57942 at January 26, 2007 09:44 PM
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I haven't been up to anything today. I can't be bothered with anything recently. Nothing seems worth thinking about. I haven't gotten anything done recently, but oh well. Not much noteworthy going on worth mentioning.
Comment by: Sten35613 at January 26, 2007 10:28 PM
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I've more or less been doing nothing worth mentioning, but eh. My life's been really bland today. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten93009 at January 27, 2007 06:26 AM
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I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. I've basically been doing nothing worth mentioning. My life's been pretty unremarkable these days. Eh.
Comment by: Sten3551 at January 27, 2007 04:01 PM
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I just don't have anything to say , but shrug. So it goes. Not much on my mind recently. I can't be bothered with anything recently.
Comment by: Sten20635 at January 27, 2007 06:33 PM
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I haven't been up to much these days. Today was a loss. Nothing seems important. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days.
Comment by: Sten2070 at January 27, 2007 11:24 PM
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I just don't have much to say these days, but so it goes. Today was a total loss. I guess it doesn't bother me.
Comment by: Sten52703 at January 28, 2007 01:11 AM
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I haven't been up to anything these days. So it goes. I can't be bothered with anything these days.
Comment by: Sten76997 at January 28, 2007 07:47 PM
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I just don't have anything to say right now. I haven't been up to anything recently, but it's not important. I've just been sitting around waiting for something to happen, but shrug.
Comment by: Sten28425 at January 29, 2007 12:53 AM
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My life's been pretty dull recently. Shrug. My mind is like a void. I haven't gotten anything done lately. I can't be bothered with anything recently.
Comment by: Sten91548 at January 29, 2007 03:21 PM
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I just don't have anything to say right now. I haven't been up to anything recently, but it's not important. I've just been sitting around waiting for something to happen, but shrug.
Comment by: Sten53425 at January 29, 2007 03:58 PM
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I can't be bothered with anything these days, but such is life. I don't care. So it goes. More or less nothing seems worth thinking about. I've just been hanging out waiting for something to happen, but that's how it is.
Comment by: Sten2622 at January 29, 2007 06:30 PM
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I haven't gotten anything done recently. I've just been hanging out doing nothing. I haven't been up to anything these days, but it's not important. Today was a total loss.
Comment by: Sten57426 at January 30, 2007 01:54 AM
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I just don't have much to say recently. Such is life. I've basically been doing nothing. Basically nothing seems worth bothering with. Oh well.
Comment by: Sten61518 at January 30, 2007 06:40 AM
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I can't be bothered with anything these days, but such is life. I don't care. So it goes. More or less nothing seems worth thinking about. I've just been hanging out waiting for something to happen, but that's how it is.
Comment by: Sten45680 at January 30, 2007 07:31 AM
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I haven't been up to anything today. I don't care. I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. Basically not much happening right now. Maybe tomorrow. I guess it doesn't bother me.
Comment by: Sten67567 at January 30, 2007 05:36 PM
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Basically nothing noteworthy happening right now, but eh. Today was a complete loss. I haven't been up to much recently. I've pretty much been doing nothing worth mentioning.
Comment by: Sten52566 at January 30, 2007 09:20 PM
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Basically nothing noteworthy happening right now, but eh. Today was a complete loss. I haven't been up to much recently. I've pretty much been doing nothing worth mentioning.
Comment by: Sten85636 at January 30, 2007 10:07 PM
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Not much on my mind. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me , but shrug. Whatever. I feel like a void.
Comment by: Sten28826 at January 31, 2007 03:43 AM
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My mind is like a bunch of nothing, but I guess it doesn't bother me. I haven't been up to anything recently. I've pretty much been doing nothing to speak of.
Comment by: Sten9980 at January 31, 2007 06:55 AM
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My mind is like a bunch of nothing, but I guess it doesn't bother me. I haven't been up to anything recently. I've pretty much been doing nothing to speak of.
Comment by: Sten42612 at January 31, 2007 09:35 AM
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I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. I've basically been doing nothing worth mentioning. My life's been pretty unremarkable these days. Eh.
Comment by: Sten41138 at January 31, 2007 07:35 PM
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I feel like a complete blank, but I don't care. Pfft. I've pretty much been doing nothing worth mentioning.
Comment by: Sten76757 at February 1, 2007 12:06 AM
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Not much on my mind. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me , but shrug. Whatever. I feel like a void.
Comment by: Sten91080 at February 1, 2007 03:27 AM
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I haven't been up to anything these days. So it goes. I can't be bothered with anything these days.
Comment by: Sten46007 at February 1, 2007 05:22 AM
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retty much nothing seems worth thinking about. My life's been completely dull , not that it matters. I've just been staying at home waiting for something to happen.
Comment by: Sten57830 at February 1, 2007 12:17 PM
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Not much on my mind. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me , but shrug. Whatever. I feel like a void.
Comment by: Sten92909 at February 1, 2007 05:11 PM
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I haven't gotten anything done recently. I've just been hanging out doing nothing. I haven't been up to anything these days, but it's not important. Today was a total loss.
Comment by: Sten43411 at February 1, 2007 09:37 PM
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I feel like a complete blank, but I don't care. Pfft. I've pretty much been doing nothing worth mentioning.
Comment by: Sten16605 at February 2, 2007 07:12 AM
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My life's been basically bland today. More or less nothing seems worth thinking about. My mind is like an empty room. I've more or less been doing nothing to speak of. Not much on my mind recently.
Comment by: Sten47701 at February 2, 2007 04:38 PM
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My mind is like a bunch of nothing, but I guess it doesn't bother me. I haven't been up to anything recently. I've pretty much been doing nothing to speak of.
Comment by: Sten72571 at February 3, 2007 12:14 AM
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Basically nothing seems worth thinking about. I haven't been up to much these days. I just don't have much to say right now. I can't be bothered with anything , but whatever.
Comment by: Sten14103 at February 3, 2007 01:06 AM
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My life's been pretty dull recently. Shrug. My mind is like a void. I haven't gotten anything done lately. I can't be bothered with anything recently.
Comment by: Sten1659 at February 3, 2007 05:33 AM
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My life's been basically bland today. More or less nothing seems worth thinking about. My mind is like an empty room. I've more or less been doing nothing to speak of. Not much on my mind recently.
Comment by: Sten98182 at February 3, 2007 06:08 AM
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Not much on my mind. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me , but shrug. Whatever. I feel like a void.
Comment by: Sten32987 at February 3, 2007 12:10 PM
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I haven't been up to anything today. I don't care. I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. Basically not much happening right now. Maybe tomorrow. I guess it doesn't bother me.
Comment by: Sten8464 at February 3, 2007 09:30 PM
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Basically nothing seems worth thinking about. I haven't been up to much these days. I just don't have much to say right now. I can't be bothered with anything , but whatever.
Comment by: Sten59947 at February 4, 2007 02:00 AM
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I've just been staying at home not getting anything done. I've basically been doing nothing worth mentioning. My life's been pretty unremarkable these days. Eh.
Comment by: Sten54691 at February 4, 2007 04:42 PM
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Not much on my mind these days, but what can I say? It's not important. I just don't have much to say lately. I've just been letting everything pass me by recently, but eh.
Comment by: Sten9450 at February 4, 2007 08:30 PM
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I just don't have anything to say right now. I haven't been up to anything recently, but it's not important. I've just been sitting around waiting for something to happen, but shrug.
Comment by: Sten36885 at February 4, 2007 10:44 PM
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I've just been staying at home waiting for something to happen, but I don't care. Basically nothing seems worth thinking about. I can't be bothered with anything recently.
Comment by: Sten34700 at February 5, 2007 04:42 AM
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I just don't have anything to say , but shrug. So it goes. Not much on my mind recently. I can't be bothered with anything recently.
Comment by: Sten32465 at February 5, 2007 06:35 AM
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I've just been staying at home waiting for something to happen. Whatever. Not much on my mind lately. I guess it doesn't bother me.
Comment by: Sten40705 at February 5, 2007 09:44 AM
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I've just been hanging out not getting anything done. What can I say? I've basically been doing nothing worth mentioning, but pfft. Not that it matters. Pretty much nothing exciting happening to speak of. I haven't been up to much these days.
Comment by: Sten32013 at February 5, 2007 03:01 PM
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I can't be bothered with anything these days, but such is life. I don't care. So it goes. More or less nothing seems worth thinking about. I've just been hanging out waiting for something to happen, but that's how it is.
Comment by: Sten40743 at February 5, 2007 06:58 PM
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I haven't been up to anything recently, but so it goes. Such is life. What can I say? Pretty much not much exciting going on to speak of. I haven't gotten much done lately, but I don't care.
Comment by: Sten60323 at February 5, 2007 10:32 PM
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Basically nothing seems worth thinking about. I haven't been up to much these days. I just don't have much to say right now. I can't be bothered with anything , but whatever.
Comment by: Sten13799 at February 5, 2007 11:41 PM
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Not much on my mind. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me , but shrug. Whatever. I feel like a void.
Comment by: Sten86815 at February 6, 2007 03:18 AM
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My life's been pretty dull recently. Shrug. My mind is like a void. I haven't gotten anything done lately. I can't be bothered with anything recently.
Comment by: Sten18383 at February 6, 2007 07:34 AM
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I've more or less been doing nothing worth mentioning, but eh. My life's been really bland today. I don't care. I've just been letting everything happen without me these days. That's how it is.
Comment by: Sten88849 at February 6, 2007 07:40 AM
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Not much on my mind right now, but it's not important. I've just been letting everything happen without me. I just don't have anything to say right now.
Comment by: Sten93410 at February 6, 2007 08:19 AM
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Comments