[In the] Round One application process, Arrowhead Electric Coop Inc made the decision to pursue fiber optic dreams on its own. They partnered with Pulse Broadband who convinced AECI’s management and board that the system could be built for a less than a third of the cost projected by the CCBC’s [Cook County Broadband Commission’s] “expert” consultant. AECI and Pulse received 16 million dollars in federal grant and loan funds in the Round Two application process this year.
AECI now appears to be in need of “stimulus” funds from the county. On Dec 20, 2010 AECI proposed that the Cook County Broadband Commission make a request to the Cook County Board of Commissioners that 1.8 million dollars of 1% tax proceeds be set aside to fund $400 per residence for in-home hook-up to AECI’s fiber optic line drops. That amount is fully nine percent of the total 20 million dollars to be collected with the 1% sales tax.
I suspect that anyone who can afford the monthly fees for Internet, phone and TV services ($40-$120/mo) should be able to shoulder the connection costs. Is this “free connection” just a sales pitch to bolster subscribership income for Arrowhead Electric and its for-profit partner Pulse Broadband? Will the amount of this request soon be increased to include free hook-ups for business accounts?
All the proposed projects currently on the 1% sales tax list will be city and/or county owned and operated. The money proposed for broadband in the 1% sales tax referendum was intended for a county owned and operated system. Is it appropriate to use county tax dollars to boost profits for a commercial enterprise such as the AECI /Pulse partnership? Is it even legal?
Stay tuned…the “Fiber Optic Follies” are sure to amuse.
Bob LaMettry
Grand Marais
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