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Ugly Broadband Boxes Not Welcome in Our Towns

by Evan Shamoon on August 22, 2008 at 06:44 PM



As anyone reading this is surely aware, the 'information age' has come with its fair share of visual noise. With Internet, television, and phone companies aggressively competing for market share, the need to install physical equipment in neighborhoods around the country continues to grow. And, in case you hadn't noticed, the delivery mechanisms are ugly as sin.

Thankfully, several towns are now fighting back.

"We have nothing against the technology. We just don't want that delivery system," San Francisco resident David Crommie told CNN. "It's 19th century packaging for 21st century technology." Crommie complained after seeing a series of refrigerator-sized boxes show up on sidewalks and in parks near his house, and managed to delay AT&T's plans to install up to 850 more. AT&T is expected to reapply for an exemption to the city's environmental-review procedures. In most locations, these "U-verse" cabinets are 4 feet tall, 4 feet wide, and 2 feet deep.

Likewise, several residents in Lower Makefield Township, just outside of Philadelphia, took similar issue when Comcast boxes started popping up around town.

"All of a sudden we have cable boxes appear," said 64-year-old resident Bernie Goldberg. "They seem to think our community is their open job site." Goldberg and his fellow residents successfully battled the installation of aboveground boxes in the 90s with Comcast's corporate predecessor.

Well, we all want our high-speed networks, so what can be done about it? Goldberg points out that Verizon was able to bury its own fiber-optic boxes underground. Someone buy Bernie Goldberg a beer. [From: CNN]

Tags: att, broadband, cable, comcast

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