[icebraining]

> If the government service sucks, then their zero-profit margin should not be a significant enough competitive advantage to drive out competitors.

Except it's not just a zero-profit margin; it's the money that you pay in taxes for that municipal ISP, which you cannot decide to allocate instead to another ISP. If you want to use an alternative ISP, you have to pay both.

If the public ISP doesn't actually receive tax money, then why would the government need to start it? Anyone can start a non-profit ISP.

(Note: I'm not saying I'm against the idea, just arguing a specific point)