by Becca Vargo Daggett Originally Published in the "Minneapolis Star Tribune" January 9, 2006
In this "Minneapolis Star Tribune" article, Becca Vargo Daggett takes a critical look at the rationale behind the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota's case opposing public ownership as a model for their municipal wireless initiative. Daggett frames the issue by responding to a particular statement made by the city's deputy chief information officer, "The city lacks the money, competence and ability to build and manage that kind of a network right now." Daggett follows with a series of arguments opposing this statement: 1. The City of Minneapolis assumed that a public model is best without examining other ownership models, even though over 100 U.S. cities with far less means than Minneapolis have found the money and the competence to build a network. Examples of such networks in the state of Minnesota are: Chaska, Moorhead, Windom and St. Louis Park. 2. City ownership makes economic sense, because public ownership ensures competition. 3. The cable companies with whom they are looking to entrust the city network have proven through prior agreements with the city that their character is untrustworthy. 4. Daggett's final point is a call for city council members to set public hearings in hopes of opening a discussion about alternative ownership models and the city's motivation behind the use of a private model. This article is available at: http://www.newrules.org/info/010906strib.html