"Municipals, incumbents battle over fiber to home"

Lightwave has a pretty extensive report on Municipal fiber battles with a primary focus on Lafayette.

The story is notable for recounting the history of the conflict and for carrying a nice set of quotes from Frank Ledoux at LUS.

A sample quote:

Meanwhile, the experiences of Lafayette, LA, illustrate how heated the battles between utilities and incumbents can get. Lafayette Utilities System (LUS) went public with plans for a $100-million FTTH network last April. Three-quarters of the community’s citizens have said they will take services if those services are affordable, reports Frank Ledoux, engineering and power production manager of LUS.

While he admits that the municipality “expected prohibitive legislation from the incumbents,” Ledoux claims that Lafayette was forced to “go to war with Cox [Communications].” The cable operator launched a multimedia “scare campaign,” as Ledoux calls it, which included radio advertisements, TV spots, and full-page ads in the local newspapers.

There's more. Enjoy yourself.