You say you want faster internet service?

A Case Study

When Competition Threatens, Try Throwing a Tantrum

Posted 10/28/09 at 03:32:23 PM  by Bart Salisbury

There’s a definite object lesson here, but I’m not sure what it is. It could be that competition is a good thing. It also could be that monopolies don’t take kindly to threats to their turf. What is obvious, however, is if you need your local cable provider to do something you got to be prepared to poke them in the eye (preferably with a sharp stick).

The suburban hamlet of Monticello, Minnesota, just outside of Minneapolis, had a hankering for fiber optic cable for all its residents. The town approached it’s regional telco, TDS Telecommunications, with the request and was rebuffed. TDS didn’t see the need to make such an investment in Monticello now or any time in the foreseeable future. In response, the citizens of Monticello passed a referendum to build their own fiber optic system, which would compete with TDS’s cable service to the town.

(click the link, because this is just starting to get juicy)