Public Power - September/October 2007 - (Page 36) U.S. Lags in Broadband Development MOBILEPAC™ REDEFINING MOBILE POWER MOBILEPAC provides quality, versatility, quick response time and industry-leading value -- all in the smallest, most powerful mobile turbine power plant on the market: • Highest Mobile Output at 25 MW • Fits Inside Just Two Trailers • 50 & 60-Hz Capability • Dual-Fuel Distillate or Gas Capable • Up & Running in 8 Hours • Anywhere in the World in 24 Hours • Synchronous Condenser Operation MOBILEPAC combines the proven Pratt & Whitney Power Systems FT8® Industrial Gas Turbine with an innovative new mobile plant design. Just imagine everything you could accomplish with a MOBILEPAC. Call us at 01-866-POWER-ALL for more information. strategy and concrete action plans to put the strategy into effect.” Why we’re behind—Experts note that a variety of factors have led to the U.S. broadband lag, but those factors can be distilled into a few key areas. Like Baller, Commissioner Copps believes the lack of a national broadband strategy is a primary reason for America’s lag in broadband deployment. “We are probably the only industrialized country without a national strategy,” said Copps. “We have let the world go by while we deregulate and reclassify things and move them from one part of the Telecom Act to another, as if we are accomplishing something. We proceed with the naïve assumption that an invisible hand will somehow get this done.” The FCC has not done adequate research to learn what other countries are doing to lead in broadband. “I’m not saying that we should exactly duplicate what other countries are doing, but there are lessons to be learned from others,” Copps said. “The same thing applies within our borders. There are hundreds of U.S. communities that have or are planning municipal broadband initiatives. The federal government needs to learn what creative approaches they are using to make it happen. At first, people thought these municipals were interfering with the private sector, but now people are seeing productive public-private relationships within these municipals.” Another reason that broadband deployment has been impeded is because of the political clout of the incumbent players and those they influence, said Jay Gillette, who has written extensively on public policy. He is professor of information and communication sciences at Ball State University. Broadband access is a top priority for American Public Power Association board Chairman Terry Huval. “Despite all the promises of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to create a competitive telecommunications market, the mega-incumbents sufficiently intimidated smaller players and succeeded in stifling desperately needed infrastructure upgrades,” he said. “As a result, the definition of American broadband is based on the smallest investment necessary to produce the greatest profit for the incumbents, leaving the United States’ ability to respond to worldwide global competition alarmingly hampered. It’s a dangerous situation that needs to be corrected soon.” Huval is the 2007-08 chairman of APPA and director of utilities in Lafayette, La. After a protracted battle with incumbent telecommunications providers, Lafayette Utilities System is constructing a citywide fiber-to-the-premises project to fill the city’s unmet broadband needs. Robert Bell, with the Intelligent Community Forum, a nonprofit think tank that focuses on job creation and economic development in the broadband economy, agrees. His organization opposes state efforts to forbid municipalities from offering communications services. “These laws have been proposed or passed in many states, spurred by lobbying from telecom carriers,” Bell said. “They reverse the intent of the Telecom Act by blocking competitive pressure on local carriers. At ICF, we are agnostic on the question of how broadband should be provided. If carriers see a business case, they will invest and deliver services efficiently. But if carriers do not see a business case, we oppose giving them the power to prevent others, including municipal governments, from making the PUBLIC POWER 36 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2007
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - September/October 2007 Contents Washington Focus 10 Questions Public Power (Every) Week Training Tomorrow’s Work Force What’s in Your Wallet? U.S. Lags in Broadband Deployment Now What? For Engineers Safety Community Broadband For Governing Boards Human Resources Hometown Connections Customer Service DEED Index to Advertisers Advertisers by Category Parting Shot Public Power - September/October 2007 Public Power - September/October 2007 - (Page Cover1) Public Power - September/October 2007 - (Page Cover2) Public Power - September/October 2007 - (Page 1) Public Power - September/October 2007 - (Page 2) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Contents (Page 3) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Contents (Page 4) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Contents (Page 5) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Contents (Page 6) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Contents (Page 7) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Contents (Page 8) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Contents (Page 9) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Washington Focus (Page 10) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Washington Focus (Page 11) Public Power - September/October 2007 - 10 Questions (Page 12) Public Power - September/October 2007 - 10 Questions (Page 13) Public Power - September/October 2007 - 10 Questions (Page 14) Public Power - September/October 2007 - 10 Questions (Page 15) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Public Power (Every) Week (Page 16) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Public Power (Every) Week (Page 17) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Public Power (Every) Week (Page 18) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Public Power (Every) Week (Page 19) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Public Power (Every) Week (Page 20) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Public Power (Every) Week (Page 21) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Training Tomorrow’s Work Force (Page 22) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Training Tomorrow’s Work Force (Page 23) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Training Tomorrow’s Work Force (Page 24) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Training Tomorrow’s Work Force (Page 25) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Training Tomorrow’s Work Force (Page 26) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Training Tomorrow’s Work Force (Page 27) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Training Tomorrow’s Work Force (Page 28) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Training Tomorrow’s Work Force (Page 29) Public Power - September/October 2007 - What’s in Your Wallet? (Page 30) Public Power - September/October 2007 - What’s in Your Wallet? (Page 31) Public Power - September/October 2007 - What’s in Your Wallet? (Page 32) Public Power - September/October 2007 - What’s in Your Wallet? (Page 33) Public Power - September/October 2007 - U.S. Lags in Broadband Deployment (Page 34) Public Power - September/October 2007 - U.S. Lags in Broadband Deployment (Page 35) Public Power - September/October 2007 - U.S. Lags in Broadband Deployment (Page 36) Public Power - September/October 2007 - U.S. Lags in Broadband Deployment (Page 37) Public Power - September/October 2007 - U.S. Lags in Broadband Deployment (Page 38) Public Power - September/October 2007 - U.S. Lags in Broadband Deployment (Page 39) Public Power - September/October 2007 - U.S. Lags in Broadband Deployment (Page 40) Public Power - September/October 2007 - U.S. Lags in Broadband Deployment (Page 41) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Now What? (Page 42) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Now What? (Page 43) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Now What? (Page 44) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Now What? (Page 45) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Now What? (Page 46) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Now What? (Page 47) Public Power - September/October 2007 - For Engineers (Page 48) Public Power - September/October 2007 - For Engineers (Page 49) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Safety (Page 50) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Safety (Page 51) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Safety (Page 52) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Community Broadband (Page 53) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Community Broadband (Page 54) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Community Broadband (Page 55) Public Power - September/October 2007 - For Governing Boards (Page 56) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Human Resources (Page 57) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Human Resources (Page 58) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Hometown Connections (Page 59) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Customer Service (Page 60) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Customer Service (Page 61) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Index to Advertisers (Page 62) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Advertisers by Category (Page 63) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Parting Shot (Page 64) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Parting Shot (Page Cover3) Public Power - September/October 2007 - Parting Shot (Page Cover4)
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