Government-owned Broadband Networks EXPLAINED: Part 3 – Charles City, Iowa
Chip Baltimore of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance in Part 3 of his series “Government-owned Broadband Networks EXPLAINED”
In this video, Chip Baltimore shares a short case study on Charles City Iowa.
Below the video is a summary of Chip’s points.
Chip’s points:
- This video is a short case study on Charles City IA with a population of approximately 7400 and 3400 homes.
- Municipal broadband consultants were paid $30k to do a preliminary study in 2018.
- The initial costs were estimated to be $11.5m with a 42% market share (take rate) needed to make the business feasible.
- By Oct 2020, the costs had ballooned to $22m and the market share (take rate) had jumped to 60% to 65% for the project sustainable and viable going forward.
- It’s a warning and red flag to any community out there looking to build a municipal broadband business. Don’t count on the remarkable predictions and projections consultants give you early in the process.
More about Chip Baltimore and the TPA (https://www.protectingtaxpayers.org/about/):
Chip Baltimore is a Senior Fellow at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, a former 4 term state legislator for Iowa. He is also an attorney having spent the 13 years as General Counsel and Trust Officer of Boone Bank & Trust Co., and 10 years in private legal practice in Boone, Iowa.
The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) TPA is a rapid response non-profit, non-partisan taxpayer group dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy. TPA will hold government officials accountable at all levels of government.
Other videos in this series:
Government-owned Broadband Networks EXPLAINED: Part 1
Government-owned Broadband Networks EXPLAINED: Part 2 – A Consultant Driven Business
Additional Resources
For additional information on PROP B and risks Lucas taxpayers need to know, see the article:
“Risks Lucas Taxpayers Need To Know About Prop B: The Vanity Internet Project”
For a 3rd part independent review of the Magellan Feasibility study which is the foundation of PROP B, see the article:
Taxpayers Protection Alliance Weighs in with Negative Review of Magellan’s Study