Post by David Arnsteinhttps://pando.com/2016/02/25/google-finds-way-bring-fiber-sf-without-drama/9a280060ff3a088a05932d2e09ac8696a488a652/
Thanks for this. What a horrible, horrible, horrible article. The writer
goes on and on about the board of supes dragging their feet on installation
of fiber, and talk about boxes cluttering up SF's "pristine sidewalks"
without acknowledging that in many neighborhoods it's nearly impossible to
walk down streets without bumping into boxes of one sort or another. SF is
a walking city. And people in wheelchairs are supposed to get enough
clearance by law to be able to maneuver their chairs.
First there was ATTBI (AT&T Broadband Internet), which connected cables.
Then they sold ATTBI to Comcast, which added more cables. Then AT&T comes
back and says they have to do the entire city with NEW boxes because they
were at a competitive disadvantage against Comcast! If they were so worried
about competition, why did they sell their internet service to Comcast in
the first place?
What's more is that there was already all kinds of fibre underground from
the likes of RCN and others, what John Higdon called "dark cable that nobody
wants". At the time he made that comment I said that the dark fibre was an
extremely good asset to have for the future. Well, I must be one of those
Google PhD thinkers because that's exactly what Google has in mind.
But as for dragging one's feet, the reason why SF continues to be a paradise
for so many people is becasue it's a walkable, pretty city. I am in favor
of requiring companies to jump through hoops to make sure that their vision
fits OURS. Will those companies go elsewhere? So what if they do. SF is
already overcrowded with anything you can name: traffic, sidewalks, people
in line at Safeway at 9pm. So, go ahead, take your business elsewhere,
Google or whoever.
But, no, Google is NOT taking their business elsewhere. And congrats to
people like Aaron Peskin who can easily call a bluff and who is not all
starry-eyed by tech. Wish that mayor Ed Lee wouldn't keep selling us out to
the likes of the NFL, Larry Ellison, etc. Damn, I wish Ed Lee would be
caught in his bribery scandal and get some jail time.