Matt, come for a visit in Michigan and I can take you around to several smaller companies building out fiber in rural areas with private funding. We ARE seeing it, I am doing it personally with over 60 miles of fiber in the ground now.
On Thu, Jan 9, 2020 at 12:48 PM Matt Hoppes < mattli...@rivervalleyinternet.net> wrote: > So why are we not seeing the same thing with fiber optic then? Why are we > needing USDA grants? Here in PA much of rural areas are covered by Zito > Media that was various smaller cable companies. > > > On Jan 9, 2020, at 12:43 PM, Ken Hohhof <af...@kwisp.com> wrote: > > > > I think it was all private money. Lots of little cable companies that > were acquired to form the big ones we have now. For example, Comcast in my > area used to be Jones Intercable: > > > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones_Intercable > > > > I don't know of any cable TV systems in very rural areas. They > typically cover towns but not the outside areas. Not profitable to run > coax where there aren't a lot of people. Franchise agreements might have > required them to cover the entire incorporated area of the town, otherwise > they might not even extend to the edge of town. > > > > I'm guessing cable TV systems were pretty profitable, hence lots of > people started them. And originally cable franchises were like a monopoly, > you didn't have to compete with 10 other providers on price, and it was an > asset you could sell. Even today, the big cable companies have an > unwritten agreement to mostly not compete in each others territory. > > > > In my WISP service area we have a small cable company that covers 4 > towns. Not the rural areas, just the towns. It is basically owned and run > by one guy, I think the cable system was bankrupt and shut down for several > years before that. > > > > www.heartlandcable.com > > > > There were a number of cable TV "magnates", the most famous maybe being > John Malone, aka "The Cable Cowboy". > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: AF <af-boun...@af.afmug.com> On Behalf Of Matt Hoppes > > Sent: Thursday, January 9, 2020 11:13 AM > > To: af@af.afmug.com > > Subject: [AFMUG] Cable TV Monies > > > > I know there are USF funds that have been used to build out internet and > phone and other funding for electric. > > > > How did the early cable systems get funded? I’m not necessarily talking > about associations although certainly to some extent, but like full on > analog cable TV systems in very rural area. > > > > The cost of copper is worse than fiber. How were these systems bank > rolled? Sometimes by a single private person. > > -- > > AF mailing list > > AF@af.afmug.com > > http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com > > > > > > > > -- > > AF mailing list > > AF@af.afmug.com > > http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com > > -- > AF mailing list > AF@af.afmug.com > http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >
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