[Davisgig] Thoughts

Tue Mar 3 16:40:05 PST 2015

Great points, and I agree on emphasizing features. But a point I've seen
over and over again is that you can't expect good prices for broadband
where there's little or no competition. Try getting those AT&T prices in
cities without Google Broadband.

Also, a nice piece on the real cost of privacy with AT&T:
https://gigaom.com/2015/02/19/dont-let-att-mislead-you-about-its-29-privacy-fee/

Avoiding that kind of pricing stunt is part of what we hope for from a more
competitive situation.

On Tue, Mar 3, 2015 at 4:26 PM, Taylor Buley <taylor.buley at mcnaughton.media>
wrote:

> Howdy - I'm Taylor. I've just joined here, so I apologize if these
> comments are late or otherwise unuseful.
>
> I like a lot of what's been written. I would strongly advise against a
> pricing argument so early on in this effort.
>
> I think price is something to avoid talking about at all for various
> reasons, among them that for this to be politically viable I imagine it
> would have to be economically viable and sold at a price greater than the
> cost to offer the service. Unlike ISPs, which subsidize their prices with
> Web portals, captive search, privacy-violating data partnerships and the
> like (the new hot deal in Austin and Kansas City is $60/month for privacy
> from AT&T), I would not like to see low price expectations to force a
> municipal operator to have to stomach such practices. Moreover,
> empirically, if you look at how networks spend their marketing dollars it's
> typically feature-based: speed, simplicity, access and the like  (coverage!
> 4 shows at a time! the hopper!). The market research big bucks suggest to
> me that there is something to a feature-based argument and that a community
> effort should consider it as well.
>
> Quick notes:
> * I would definitely "brand" this groups effort, at least with a name with
> caps. Used "Davis Community Fiber" in what I banged out below
> * Says "you" need to get involved, doesn't repeatedly make it obvious on
> how to get involved. If involvement is the call to action you shouldn't
> have to scroll a long way to see it
> * Pretending I want to stay in touch (I do): how does the information come
> to me? A Facebook page to like? Twitter feed to follow? Newsletter?
> * Speed. Also, I find it useful to translate speeds into time it takes to
> download X. E.g. much of Davis would have to have 5x its current average
> speeds to support streaming House of Cards on Netflix on the latest (4K)
> TVs.
> * I think "going local" is another strong argument to make. Where do you
> want your techies to live when your Internet goes down?
> * I do not think Davis is exceptional in terms of today's infrastructure,
> I think a point we may try to make is that we should be exceptional but
> today fall short of expectations
> * Switches tenses "DCF is a brand new... would provide" in both future
> tense and present
>
> The notes hit seem: 0) why you care about this 1) who we are and 2) how
> you to get involved. Playing off the content as is and one of Steve's
> links, I feel like something short like this could pack a brief punch:
>
> > You probably don't have high-speed Internet. 61% of Davis doesn't have
> what the FCC today qualifies as broadband access (>10Meg), according to a
> draft 2015 Yolo County [broadband survey](
> http://www.yolocounty.org/home/showdocument?id=27240). Some 44% of our
> neighbors don't have fast enough connections to watch a YouTube video
> without worrying (>5-6Meg).
>
> > Davis was once a leader in Internet connectivity, with the non-profit
> Davis Community Network first bringing Internet access in 1993. Instead of
> trying to play catchup with today's speeds, Davis Community Fiber is a
> city-owned municipal telecomm operator partnering with Davis Community
> Network to propose leapfrogging Davis out of "the Copper Ages" and onto
> fiber optic network infrastructure that boasts data speeds approaching the
> speed of light.
>
> > This nascent effort is just underway and now is the time for community
> members to come forward and show support. [Sign up](current URL is
> localhost) for our newsletter and join our network of neighbors working to
> make the next mark on Davis's legacy of exceptionalism.
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 3, 2015 at 3:16 PM, Steve McMahon <steve at dcn.org> wrote:
>
>> A few excellent resources for linking and quoting:
>>
>> 1) The Yolo County Broadband Report
>> <http://www.yolocounty.org/general-government/yolo-lafco/shared-services-initiative/yolo-broadband/download-the-draft-plan>
>>
>> 2) The President's Report on Community-Based Broadband Solutions
>> <http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/community-based_broadband_report_by_executive_office_of_the_president.pdf>
>>
>> 3) White House FACT SHEET: Broadband That Works: Promoting Competition &
>> Local Choice In Next-Generation Connectivity
>> <http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/01/13/fact-sheet-broadband-works-promoting-competition-local-choice-next-gener>
>>
>> All of these are very current.
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Mar 3, 2015 at 2:20 PM, Fei Li <flcli at ucdavis.edu> wrote:
>>
>>>  Thanks to everyone who replied. Here's what we've got. Please pick
>>> this apart! Is it good enough for now?
>>>
>>>
>>>  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>  You're paying too much for slow internet.
>>>
>>> Your internet is slow. It's expensive, it's limited, and it's
>>> unreliable. How much of your time is lost to buffering videos on YouTube
>>> and Netflix? How many times have your Skype calls dropped unexpectedly? Do
>>> you really need the added stress of data caps on your internet? Your
>>> options are limited, and *your current service providers fine with
>>> this.*
>>>
>>> We're sick of it. And we're going to fix that with community fiber
>>> <http://127.0.0.1:8000/app/>.
>>>  What is community fiber?
>>>
>>> You might have heard it called municipal fiber, or community broadband.
>>> We think of it as a modern infrastructure for a modern city.
>>>
>>> Davis community fiber is a brand new, state of the art, city-owned
>>> telecommunications operation. Community fiber would provide neighborhoods,
>>> businesses and schools with the internet infrastructure they need to stay
>>> competitive in the world. The possibilities are endless when we are no
>>> longer bound to obsolete, fragile, and sluggish copper phone and cable
>>> lines.
>>>
>>> Much like the copper networks installed 100 years ago, fiber networks
>>> will be used for decades to come. With the adoption of fiber optic
>>> networks, Davis can remain a leader in science, technology, and quality of
>>> life.
>>> Why is community fiber good for Davis?
>>>
>>> The advantages of community fiber are as numerous as they are
>>> outstanding. Here is just a small selection of the benefits that are made
>>> possible through community fiber in Davis:
>>>
>>>    - Truly unlimited, reliable and lightning-fast service at prices
>>>    that match--or even beat--currently available plans.
>>>    - Property values will go up.
>>>    <http://motherboard.vice.com/read/gigabit-internet-connections-make-property-values-rise>
>>>    - A new revenue stream for the city, cheaper maintenance costs,
>>>    market competition and even resurfaced roads. Really!
>>>    - Your pick from a wide variety of internet, television and phone
>>>    options from multiple providers, all served from the city network.
>>>    - Fast. Wifi. Everywhere.
>>>    - Public accountability. Community fiber is made for you. When you
>>>    have a concern, your voice matters.
>>>
>>>  Many of these things are nigh impossible to implement with our aging
>>> networks, but community fiber will open the doors to this and so much more.
>>> How can we bring community fiber to Davis?
>>>
>>> As with all good things, there is still a lot of hard work to be done.
>>> We're partnering with Davis Community Network
>>> <http://www2.dcn.org/dcn/about/org_description>, a citizen-driven,
>>> non-profit organization that first brought internet access to Davis in
>>> 1993. Several cities across the nation have already brought this dream to
>>> life through groups like us. There is only one thing missing: *You*.
>>> With your support we can make sure that Davis remains exceptional.
>>> You can help.
>>>
>>> Keep in touch. <http://127.0.0.1:8000/app/> We'll keep you up-to-date
>>> with the latest news and show you how to get involved with this
>>> community-driven effort.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>  ------------------------------
>>> *From:* davisgig-bounces at list.omsoft.com <
>>> davisgig-bounces at list.omsoft.com> on behalf of Fei Li <flcli at ucdavis.edu
>>> >
>>> *Sent:* Monday, March 2, 2015 7:26 PM
>>> *To:* davisgig at list.omsoft.com
>>> *Subject:* [Davisgig] Thoughts
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi everyone,
>>>
>>>
>>>  The website is nearly done. Thanks to everyone who helped out with
>>> this effort and other efforts. We did some great work, but we're not done
>>> yet and time is not a commodity we have much of!
>>>
>>>
>>>  I'd like to get the site published tomorrow before 5 PM tomorrow.
>>> Luckily, it's not *that* tall of an order.
>>>
>>>
>>>  We have some content that needs to be put in. Rob was kind enough to
>>> provide some paragraphs to our web team, but I'd like to hear from all of
>>> you as well. The sooner, the better!
>>>
>>>
>>>  How would you answer these questions?
>>>
>>>
>>>  1) What is municipal fiber?
>>>
>>>
>>>  2) Why is municipal fiber good for Davis?
>>>
>>>
>>>  3) How can we bring municipal fiber to Davis?
>>>
>>>
>>>  That's it. Doesn't have to be long. Maybe a paragraph or two tops. Try
>>> to keep it on the simple side if you want. No need to go into technical
>>> detail, nor make promises we may or may not be able to keep. Your answers
>>> will be edited and used as content for the front page. If anyone wants to
>>> take the lead as a writer in the future, then please let me. For now we're
>>> just trying to drum up some support and pave the way for a full-fledged
>>> site with fact sheets and numbers later.
>>>
>>>
>>>  Thanks!
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>>
>>> Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts:
>>>
>>> http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start
>>>
>>> Davisgig mailing list
>>> Davisgig at list.omsoft.com
>>> http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig
>>>
>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>> Please ref our wiki for details, documents and contacts:
>>
>> http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~help/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start
>>
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>> Davisgig at list.omsoft.com
>> http://list.omsoft.com/mailman/listinfo/davisgig
>>
>>
>
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