I see no problem with this setup if the homeowners association own the network, and can bid out managing the service to private ISP's. That's the ideal setup, IMO. Consider the data pipes a utility, but let free market forces drive service.
If they were able to let multiple companies offer service over their community-owned dumb pipes, that would indeed be ideal. But my recollection is that were hiring a single private ISP to manage it all. Maybe they were too small for Comcast or Cox, etc. to bother with in this unique setup? I'm afraid the same thing would happen in small towns if the town itself owned the network.
