more on Rendell caves and signs HB30 - Verizon can prevent municipal networks statewide

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
Date: December 1, 2004 5:05:59 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Cc: dmaltz () cs cmu edu
Subject: Re: [IP] Rendell caves and signs HB30 - Verizon can prevent 
municipal networks statewide

Dave,

There's a minor urban myth afoot about this legislation that IP readers 
might want to have dispelled.

David Maltz's note (and others that have appeared on IP) claim that in 
the absence of this last-minute deal with Verizon, the Pennsylvania law 
would have prohibited Philly from offering a free wireless network.

I don't believe this claim is true. The law applies only to 
municipalities providing Internet service in return "for compensation" 
-- that is, a fee that subscribers would pay. This is Verizon's reading 
as well, they told me today.

Check out the text of the legislation for yourself:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/BT/2003/0/HB0030P4778.HTM

There may be plenty of problematic things buried in a complex law 
that's  dozens of pages long. But it is FUD to claim that Philly would 
have been prohibited from offering free wireless service. (My 
uninformed speculation is that the city was so upset because they 
wanted to charge for it and had no intention of offering it for free in 
the first place.)

-Declan



David Farber wrote:

> From: "David A. Maltz" <dmaltz () cs cmu edu>
> Date: December 1, 2004 3:40:31 PM EST
> To: 100x100-cmu-reading-group () cs cmu edu
> Subject: Rendell caves and signs HB30 - Verizon can prevent municipal  
> networks statewide
> Verizon Communications yesterday reached an agreement with the city of 
>  Philadelphia that will let the city move forward with its plans for a 
>  citywide wide area WiFi network. While specific details about the 
> deal  have not been released, Verizon agreed to waive its rights under 
> the  new legislation to bar Philadelphia from providing WiFi service 
> for  free or at a low-cost.
> As for the bill in question, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell 
> yesterday  signed it into law. This hotly contested new law will make 
> it illegal  for municipalities to offer their constituents wireless or 
> landline  broadband service without first getting the permission of 
> broadband  service providers. Without that permission, carriers can 
> block any  effort to build a municipal network in the commonwealth. 
> Thanks to its  agreement with Verizon, Philadelphia will be exempt 
> from this  stipulation. Most insiders claim the law will effectively 
> end the  municipal WiFi effort in the rest of Pennsylvania, making it 
> almost  impossible for other cities to negotiate a reasonable rate for 
> offering  free or low-cost broadband wireless.
> <http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm? 
> newsid=13465974&BRD=2212&PAG=461&dept_id=465812&rfi=6>

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