City-controlled internet would not be good for county residents

Published 2:30 pm Wednesday, June 9, 2021

In response to a recent op-ed on broadband internet access, I am making the following comments.

Yes fiber has been deployed along water pipes successfully. Is it the best option for Boyle County? Not by a long shot.

Had Inter-County not bowed to pressure from the city, rural Boyle County would already have fiber. Inter-County already has the infrastructure in place, all they had to do was start pulling cable, but Danville wants to own the internet.

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You see, the city owns the water lines in Boyle County outside of Parksville, and they want to install fiber along those water lines, just as was mentioned in the op-ed.

This gives Danville control over the internet in the county.

Does anyone want the city monitoring your internet access? Because they will be able to and if they can they will.

They will also be able to charge anything they want for access, operating as a Government Monopoly. This is a horrible decision for the citizens of Boyle County as their only option for broadband will be provided by a government in which they have no representation.

No price controls, no privacy, no representation, adding infrastructure on top of infrastructure that is already poorly managed adds up to a losing proposition for Boyle County. It will also take years and years to deploy. It’s a shame. We deserve better.

Steve Knight

Danville