Municipal ISP?

[lurker]

Lots of cities are wanting to buildout wireless connectivity and they are realizing that offering connectivity to their folks is easily done; and providing free service, too.


An interesting listen from "On the Media":
http://www.onthemedia.org/stream/ram...otm010507e.mp3

Tax supported connectivity has more value to me than race tracks or water parks or golf courses.

I'm not sure I did the link correctly. It's here:
On The Media: Transcript of "Wi-Fi America" (January 5, 2007)

[Tee]

Originally Posted by lurker

Tax supported connectivity has more value to me than race tracks or water parks or golf courses.

agree, totally!!

[gunnar1073]

Why would a city operated "wifi" be such a great idea? Wifi is in its infancy of technological development and I so no reason for a kind of government to offer this as a free service when it can easily be privately driven. That would be like the government taking over the phone companies. Silly idea in my opinion.

[lurker]

Originally Posted by gunnar1073

Why would a city operated "wifi" be such a great idea? Wifi is in its infancy of technological development and I so no reason for a kind of government to offer this as a free service when it can easily be privately driven. That would be like the government taking over the phone companies. Silly idea in my opinion.

The computer that you're now using has more connectivity options than the phone that's on your desk or in your pocket. The limitation of the telephone is that it's only connected to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) and it only works through a central switch.

Your computer has more intelligence than that PSTN switch does and it's able to send data through the World Wide Web to any other device at the other end of the W-W-W.... as long as the web remains stupid.... and available.

A hundred years ago, roads and bridges were built by individual entities and a toll was collected to use them. Sometime, somewhere it was decided to make them common carriage roads; yet the railroads were allowed to remain private carriage roads. Which road are you on?

This is old but a very good starting point to begin thinking about the net and network neutrality: The Paradox of the Best Network

FWIW, the FCC has been urged to:

Resist at all costs the telephone industry's calls for bailouts. The policy should be one of "fast failure."

Acknowledge that non-Internet communications equipment, while not yet extinct, is economically obsolete and forbear from actions that would artificially prolong its use.

Discourage attempts by incumbent telephone companies to thwart municipal, publicly-owned and other communications initiatives that don't fit the telephone company business model.

Accelerate FCC exploration of innovative spectrum use and aggressively expand unlicensed spectrum allocation.

[SGT T.]

WiFi for all of Dodge... interesting idea. Could be done, and almost done cheaply. It's not like making Phili or NYC wifi, Dodge is much smaller. They should try an experiment. Set up Wifi in a semi-remote location and see what happens. Think wifi in downtown dodge. Hmmm interesting concept huh?

[Zeb]

And what about the ISP's that have already invested heavily in equip. Little mom and pop operations like Starr, Hubris, Pioneer, ect? What would happen to their businesses if free connectivity is offered?


I can't help but think about Walmart and what it did to the little guy.

[SGT T.]

Who is to say that Starr, Hubris, Pioneer and the rest can't calberate or bid on the city contract?!? I am all about supporting the little guy.

[Zeb]

And what's the chance all 3 would be selected? I guess my point is not all could make it beneficial.

[SGT T.]

And my point is that all three of them could be in on it. If they presented a plan jointly to the City, pool resources, share costs... Why compete if you don't have to?

[Bubba]

If my memory is correct they are already doing this in many if not all parts of St. Louis, Mo. and Chicago, IL.