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wallet535 OP t1_ixdy7rn wrote

Reply to comment by Loose-Cloud-4356 in Should the state regulate Internet service pricing similar to utilities? by wallet535

LOL! I’ve heard of municipal broadband before. I have no idea if it’s generally thought to be a good idea but definitely worth discussing.

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ThrillSeekingDoggo t1_ixe0pw5 wrote

It's 100% a good idea. Everything that everyone "needs" should be public, as in access to needs should not be driven by market pricing. It's the most obvious place to land at if you care about people other than yourself to any degree.

Food, Medicine, Housing, Clean Water, Internet access, safe and efficient transit, Energy, it's all 100% necessary to live a comfortable life today. All of our policy should be designed around guaranteeing access to all needs for everyone. Instead we have hellscape capitalism where like 10k families have 50% of the wealth and 160 million Americans are a month away from destitution.

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Michelanvalo t1_ixhhy7t wrote

It failed in Braintree. They sold the internet wing of Braintree Electric to Comcast this year.

I agree it's a good idea but it needs to actually succeed

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booksaboutthesame t1_ixegykr wrote

It's fucking amazing. Fast, cheap, reliable. I've had it for 2+ years and I think it's gone down, like, once.

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aaronroot t1_ixg3h4k wrote

Damn man, seriously? You must not know anyone in a community that has taken on the project. I, sadly, do not live in a place that has it either so I have worship at the teat of Comcast. My brother lives 20 minutes away in another town with municipal fiber and pays $75/month for gigabit up/down. I pay $125/m to Comcast for 300/10

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Old_Travel8423 t1_ixh71tn wrote

Yeah. Even ONE competitor can be a game changer. I had RCN at $35/mo for 500/15. They upped it to $80/mo after the contract. Then, I cancelled, my gf signed up with RCN for… $30/mo for 600/15. We have Comcast in the area too but I’d rather use anyone else if possible. But just having another name to put on the account is great.

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wallet535 OP t1_ixg420p wrote

OMFG. Eff Comcast, that’s obscene. I also don’t have municipal broadband and this is why I’m raising the question.

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aaronroot t1_ixg6cmp wrote

Yeah, tell me about it. I unfortunately live in a place where Comcast is the only “high speed” internet provider available. Nowadays “high speed” doesn’t mean what it did in 2005. It just means, useable internet in 2022. I work from home. Like most people my family streams our entertainment, etc. My other options are literally fucking DSL (there’s 2005 again) or satellite at a fraction of the speed for the same price. It’s a racket and I hate it.

I know this is r/Boston. I don’t live in the metro area or even the east side of the state anymore but we are all victims of this to some degree. Affordable and “high speed” internet access is as much a necessity today as all utilities. It’s not a luxury. Municipalities need to take note, especially if they want to attract residents.

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