

Cambridge, MA City Council adopts resolution to commemorate thirty years of GNU  - eltondegeneres
https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/cambridge-ma-city-council-adopts-resolution-to-commemorate-thirty-years-of-gnu

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hawkharris
There's really no city like Cambridge. The other day I saw a subway ad for
genetic research that was geared toward everyday commuters: "Everyone deserves
a chance to break through...Take your research to the next level..."

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icambron
If the Cambridge City Council were even remotely serious about promoting
innovation, they could at least stop locking out ISP competition. Might go a
lot further than empty commemoration.

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skwirl
Can you link to some kind of evidence of that? My understanding is that RCN,
Verizon, etc. are just not interested in expanding in to Cambridge.

edit: Here's what the city has to say,
from[http://www.cambridgema.gov/consumercouncil/cambridgecableinf...](http://www.cambridgema.gov/consumercouncil/cambridgecableinformation.aspx):

"Comcast is currently the only cable operator that has sought a license with
Cambridge. The City of Cambridge has approached other operators, more than
once, about seeking a license to operate a cable TV system in Cambridge, but
they have informed us that Cambridge is not currently part of their business
plan; however, City officials stand ready to negotiate with any willing
operator."

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icambron
Right, so the relevant point is what "seeking a license" actually entails. RCN
works in neighboring Somerville and FIOS is all over greater Boston. Cambridge
is a bit less dense than Somerville but generally more affluent, so there's no
good reason that RCN wouldn't expand into it. It simply doesn't make sense to
say that all these companies aren't interested; otherwise why would they have
approached the council in the first place? What would it even mean for them to
have sought a license and then decide it's "not currently part of their
business plan"? There's nothing particularly special about Cambridge, but for
a city its size and with its access to the backbone, there's a very odd lack
of choice.

I think a key to the issue is:

> City officials stand ready to negotiate with any willing operator

What are we negotiating over, and what does the CCC require these operators to
do to get a license? What does "willing" actually mean? It's not clear,
because if they want to set up a network and Cambridge wants them to set up a
network, there's nothing to negotiate over. Yes, there are some costs involved
in digging up the street, but if they work in other cities, they should work
in Cambridge. AFAIK, the details of the Comcast plan are shamefully non-public
(at least, I've never seen them), but I think the obvious conclusion is that
the council is making unreasonable demands on the ISPs, counter to their
citizen's best interests.

This they're-just-not-interested line the CCC is selling simply makes no
sense. And until the council is willing to share what their actual demands are
and the details of their deal with Comcast, I'll continue to assume the worst.

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stormbrew
> otherwise why would they have approached the council in the first place?

I know nothing about Cambridge whatsoever, but the quote says council
approached operators, not the other way around.

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icambron
You're right, I misread that. Nevertheless, the idea that ISPs are just not
interested in Cambridge is prima facie absurd.

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narag
Well, happy birthday!

