The Future of Municipal Broadband
Mar 24, 2008
An article in Saturday's New York Times recounts the recent setbacks facing U.S. communities that once had high hopes that municipal Wi-Fi projects would provide free or low-cost Internet access to residents and businesses.
The most oft-cited example has been Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love jumped on the Wi-Fi bandwagon early, back in 2005, charting a course that convinced local officials in cities like Chicago and San Francisco to launch their own plans for muni Wi-Fi. That was then.
According to the NYTimes, "the excited momentum has sputtered to a standstill, tripped up by unrealistic ambitions and technological glitches." Sascha Meinrath, research director for New America Foundation's Wireless Future program, adds, "the entire for-profit model is the reason for the collapse in all these projects."
So what's next?
That's the topic that will be explored at one of Tech Policy Summit's breakout sessions this Wednesday, March 26th. Hosted by Dr. Simon Wilkie of USC's Center for Communication Law and Policy, the discussion about the future of wide-area public broadband will feature USC professor Jonathan Taplin, San Francisco's chief information officer Chris Vein, One Economy Corporation's EVP of external affairs Alec Ross and Sascha Meinrath of New America Foundation.
Registration for the 2008 Summit is now closed, but you can check back here for updates throughout the week.
Click here to read the full NYTimes article.
Tags:
broadband, Internet access, muni wi-fi, San Francisco, Tech Policy Summit
