Understanding Technology
A Better Mouse Trap
Carrollton and Carroll County have a very bright future. Contrary to popular conversation, we are not going down
the toilet, and we have the opportunity to create a future that outshines the communities that we are competing with.
That’s right! We are competing with other communities (cities like Newnan, Georgia) that have decided to recruit
businesses (from other Georgia cities, including Carrollton) to relocate to their wired community.
I have 3 ideas that I would like to share with you today. First, Newnan is not as wired as they would lead folks to
believe. Second, their network is relatively slow. And finally, we have the opportunity to build a much better
mouse trap. Just so there is no confusion about my position on this topic:
Thank goodness we did not deploy a fiber network
in the way Newnan, Georgia deployed theirs.
Don’t get me wrong. Three or four years ago, Newnan Utilities did a very good thing for their community; it was the
right thing for Newnan to do. It was right for Newnan, because Newnan is a MEAG city. Newnan sells electricity to their
citizens in the same way Carrollton sells water, sewage and trash pickup to their citizens. Newnan purchases their
electricity from the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, so they are a MEAG city. In the city of Carrollton,
our electricity is provided by either Georgia Power or by Carroll EMC.
Newnan used their position, as a local electric utility, to hang fiber on the power poles; they started competing
with the cable television company; and they are now offering Internet and telephone services throughout their community.
But, Newnan is not as wired as they would lead folks to believe. They are providing these services to the higher-income
neighborhoods in and around Newnan, and to local businesses. But as it turns out, they have bypassed many of the middle
to low income neighborhoods with their fiber optic routes.
In addition, their network is relatively slow. It is slow because it is based on 3 to 4 year old technology; and
it is slow because they (in reality) have slow connections in and out of town (to the Internet).
I know, but Newnan has fiber! Yes, they do have fiber, and they do a great job of telling their story.
But, we are not helpless, and we have the opportunity to build a much better mouse trap.
We, Carrollton and Carroll County, Georgia are not helpless for the following reasons:
- we are part of the largest local calling area in the world, which includes all of Atlanta, Georgia;
- we have fiber throughout our area (installed by BellSouth, Carroll EMC, Georgia Power, ITC Delta Com, and the Carrollton City Schools);
- we have all of the long distance services that are offered in the metropolitan Atlanta area;
- we are serviced by multiple wireless service providers (Cellular, PCS, etc.);
- we are home to a large, independent regional paging company;
- advanced Internet services are available in Carroll County and from Atlanta, Georgia;
- local Internet Service Providers are recognized locally, regionally and nationally for their Internet infrastructures, E-Commerce Solutions, Web Services, and Access Services;
- local Internet Service Providers offer the highest performance, lowest cost telephone-based dedicated Internet Access in the State of Georgia;
- our community is home to an Inter-exchange carrier point of presence; and
- our community actively pursues additional/new telecommunications and broadband initiatives through an alliance between government, business, education, and independent citizens, the West Georgia Telecommunications Alliance (WGTA).
We need to challenge ourselves to invest in and to create our own destiny. Carrollton and Carroll County have the unique opportunity to build a much better network infrastructure than has been done elsewhere. After all, would you bet your business on a 4-year old personal computer? Not if you want to win!
Until next time, we’ll see you in The Village!
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