While I’m on the topic of VoIP, a municipality in Michigan is selling VoIP to it’s residents.

The move appears to be targetted at the friendly local monopoly, Verizon. Another broadband provider exists in the area, but the city’s offer combines broadband and Vonage’s service.

Community or municipal access providers are not a first, but are there (recent) precedents of a municipal telco?

I don’t see much implications besides convenience for the consumer, and maybe cost savings, since the same service can be accessed using another broadband provider. Although it’s nice to see a small city try to address a problem, this might go against what I just said regarding convergence…