Hello again everyone. I wanted to share Michael Lilliquist's most recent e-mail to the council on fiber and internet for all. Many of the council members support access for all, but are under the False impression that the big companies already provide this. Of course they don't, not when you look at the speeds they actually give to the poor which they of course proportionately overcharge them for. Out in the county some can't get service at all. The low-income connections provided by the big providers are virtually worthless, anyway, I'll let Michael's e-mail take it from here. I am thankful that he still sees the value in this. The article he refers to below is about San Francisco's Public Broadband efforts. Even though they're a big city, having public broadband and infrastructure still makes sense. Fellow council members, I just saw this article, and I found it interesting for a number of reasons. One is that we sometime hear the argument that modern cities like our are already well-served by private networks. Well, San Franscisco is a high tech as they come, and there is still a perceived need for a public broadband component, to low prices, address equity issues, and close the digital divide — as well as create economic development buzz. "A public-private, dark-fiber only option is the cheapest model of the three but could see less competition on the open access network than the dual public-private alternative. Residential connection fees would fall between $15 and $37 a month and business connection fees between $21 and $54 a month." http://www.routefifty.com/smart-cities/2017/10/san-francisco-digital-divide/141956/ Some of you have said you support internet access for all our community. This may be how we make good on that: a public private partnership, open access network, using either leased-capacity lit fiber or unlit dark fiber, (or a combination, which is what Mt Vernon does). Dozens of cities do it. Maybe we should too. Yours, Michael Lilliquist President, Bellingham City Council Representative, Ward 6 360 778-8212 • mlilliquist@cob.org