Competition won't change economic reality. Verizon's average revenue per wire-line user is $125/month (mostly FiOS), and the operating income margin on that is 1-5% in any given quarter. Unless a competitor had fundamentally different economics than Verizon, there's no way it could profitably serve those low-income communities.
The city's approach, direct spending focused on deploying cheaper wireless technologies, is the least distortionary and most cost-efficient way to proceed. Better still would be just giving those poor neighborhoods cash and letting them decide whether to spend it on broadband, or food or clothing.
The city's approach, direct spending focused on deploying cheaper wireless technologies, is the least distortionary and most cost-efficient way to proceed. Better still would be just giving those poor neighborhoods cash and letting them decide whether to spend it on broadband, or food or clothing.