Public Power - September/October 2007 - (Page 39)

Seeing is not believing. said. “The incumbents have had their share of tax breaks and incentives. . . In a large way, those companies have failed to keep their promises. It’s time to let the public sector take the reins in communities where citizens want them to do so.” “Great nations don’t whine about the problems they face; they act boldly to overcome them,” Baller said. “Besides, the population-density argument doesn’t work. If population density were all that mattered, one would expect to see fiber-to-the-home in our major cities. But that’s not likely to happen in even a single major city in the United States in the foreseeable future. Ironically, in the next few years, it’s small to medium-sized public power communities that are most likely to develop fiber networks—provided that we don’t let artificial barriers get in their way.” Possible solutions—Baller and his law partner, Casey Lide, have drafted an eightstep plan for developing a national broadband strategy. “We saw lots of calls for a national broadband strategy, but no specific proposals for how to get such a strategy adopted and implemented. So we came up with a detailed plan ourselves,” Baller said. First, proponents of a national strategy must create a critical mass of support, using a variety of tools, to educate opinion leaders in government, business, academia, consumer groups, labor, the media and the public. Second, Congress and the president must enact federal legislation to make a national commitment to move forward on the issue. Third, the president and the leadership of Congress should appoint a nonpartisan, highly respected, and broadly representative task force to work on the issue. Fourth, the task force must develop ambitious but realistic preliminary goals. Fifth, the task force must gather key pertinent information on the issue. Sixth, the task force must exchange and refine the information. Seventh, the task force must develop a report with specific recommendations. Finally, Congress must enact legislation necessary to implement the task force’s recommendations. A detailed explanation of the plan, national plans of other countries, and a wealth of other pertinent information can be found at www.APPAnet.org Provide your customers with a safe, beautiful electric fireplace. When you see the new electric fireplace from Electraflame, you won’t believe your eyes. Electraflame fireplaces give out the cozy heat you want without the mess, matches and smoke. Show your customers the beauty of adding a new electric fireplace to their home. Distributed by: SERVE Co. 1-800-248-3292 www.kwh.com RELIABILITY IS OUR MIDDLE NAME. Except for Clem here. His is Wendell. Overhead Transmission Underground Transmission Substations Electrical Studies Routing & Siting Construction Management Testing & Commissioning Geographic Information Systems Utility Automation Gas Turbine Plant Design Coal & Solid Fuel Plants Renewable Power Telecommunication Systems Middle names notwithstanding, it’s dependability that matters. Whatever the scope of your project, we’ll deliver the power of experience, imagination, and flexibility every step of the way. So call 208-788-3456 or visit www.powereng.com today. Because our first name is POWER. SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2007 39 http://www.APPAnet.org

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

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.