Micheal Balhoff, a leading Wall Street Journal All-Star Analyst, spoke recently at a breakfast, hosted by the TCTA and
TN Chamber of Commerce & Industry, before Nashville business and community leaders about public utilities going into
broadband service. Balhoff, author of Municipal Broadband: Digging Beneath the Surface, and managing partner at
Balhoff and Rowe, a Baltimore-based financial research firm, is telling cities to stay out of the high-speed Internet business.
Balhoff led the study and says that while many have tried, no city has created an economically viable model. He says
unlike typical utilities like water and electricity, too few people use broadband to justify using tax dollars to provide universal
access, and technology changes too fast for government-run companies to react.
“I don’t think anybody knows no matter how knowledgeable you are on the subject, exactly how this marketplace is going
to play out and exactly what the financial models are going to be…” said Balhoff. “Let’s see. How can I be polite in saying
its crazy, but it is. It’s crazy. It’s irresponsible.”
In addition to the breakfast, Balhoff testified before Metro’s broadband taskforce and met with state policy makers.
Background on Michael Balhoff
Previously, Balhoff headed for 16 years the Telecommunications Equity Research Group
at Legg Mason, and covered equities of incumbent local exchange carriers. Prior to joining Legg
Mason in 1989, Balhoff held posts as a graduate and undergraduate professor. He has a doctorate
in Canon Law and four master’s degrees, including an M.B.A., concentration in finance, from the
University of Maryland. A Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the Baltimore
Security Analysts Society, Balhoff has been named on six occasions as a Wall Street Journal
All-Star Analyst for his recommendations in the Telecommunications industry. His coverage
of telecom, and especially rural telecommunications, was named by Institutional Investor as the
top telecommunications boutique in the country in 2003.
