Philadelphia Citywide WLAN in Jeopardy

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "David P. Reed" <dpreed () reed com>
Date: November 18, 2004 10:34:31 PM EST
To: Bob Frankston <BobF () frankston com>, farber () cis upenn edu
Subject: Fwd: Philadelphia Citywide WLAN in Jeopardy


http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/news/article.php/3438161

Philadelphia Citywide WLAN in Jeopardy
By  Eric Griffith

It's called House Bill 30, and it's currently in the Pennsylvania 
General Assembly. If it eventually passes the state Senate and gets a 
signature from the governor, it could be the end of any municipally-run 
broadband (wireless or wired) throughout the state. That includes the 
much-hyped plans by the city of Philadelphia to make a giant wireless 
cloud.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported today on opposition to the bill by 
supporters of the Philly plan.

House Bill 30 states specifically that "a political subdivision 
[defined as any county, city, borough, incorporated town, township, 
municipality, municipal authority or county institution district] or 
any entity established by a political subdivision may not provide to 
the public for compensation any telecommunications services, including 
advanced and broadband services, within the service territory of a 
local exchange telecommunications company operating under a network 
modernization plan."

Translation: cities and towns can't provide for-fee broadband (like a 
Wi-Fi hotzone) if it competes with a company already providing a 
similar service (even wired services like DSL or cable modems).

-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as interesting-people () lists elistx com
To manage your subscription, go to
 http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip

Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/