"Comcast is currently the only cable operator that has sought a license with Cambridge. The City of Cambridge has approached other operators, more than once, about seeking a license to operate a cable TV system in Cambridge, but they have informed us that Cambridge is not currently part of their business plan; however, City officials stand ready to negotiate with any willing operator."
Right, so the relevant point is what "seeking a license" actually entails. RCN works in neighboring Somerville and FIOS is all over greater Boston. Cambridge is a bit less dense than Somerville but generally more affluent, so there's no good reason that RCN wouldn't expand into it. It simply doesn't make sense to say that all these companies aren't interested; otherwise why would they have approached the council in the first place? What would it even mean for them to have sought a license and then decide it's "not currently part of their business plan"? There's nothing particularly special about Cambridge, but for a city its size and with its access to the backbone, there's a very odd lack of choice.
I think a key to the issue is:
> City officials stand ready to negotiate with any willing operator
What are we negotiating over, and what does the CCC require these operators to do to get a license? What does "willing" actually mean? It's not clear, because if they want to set up a network and Cambridge wants them to set up a network, there's nothing to negotiate over. Yes, there are some costs involved in digging up the street, but if they work in other cities, they should work in Cambridge. AFAIK, the details of the Comcast plan are shamefully non-public (at least, I've never seen them), but I think the obvious conclusion is that the council is making unreasonable demands on the ISPs, counter to their citizen's best interests.
This they're-just-not-interested line the CCC is selling simply makes no sense. And until the council is willing to share what their actual demands are and the details of their deal with Comcast, I'll continue to assume the worst.
edit: Here's what the city has to say, fromhttp://www.cambridgema.gov/consumercouncil/cambridgecableinf...:
"Comcast is currently the only cable operator that has sought a license with Cambridge. The City of Cambridge has approached other operators, more than once, about seeking a license to operate a cable TV system in Cambridge, but they have informed us that Cambridge is not currently part of their business plan; however, City officials stand ready to negotiate with any willing operator."