As a fellow free-market libertarian, and also a telecom blogger, I ought to be in agreement with Russell Roberts's critique of municipal "socialist" telecom networks.

Yet I'd like to offer, if not a contrary view, at least a different perspective on muni networks. I believe there are good and bad reasons to build them. But dismissal is not an option.

Yes, there's a clear transfer payment in favour of people who are unwilling to pay the current market-clearing price of a broadband connection. This is a net loss of utility to society, since the taxpayers whose money was confiscated had other, more pleasant, ways of spending this money in mind.