Philly Considers Wireless Internet for All

Grok Headline matches for Philly Considers Wireless Internet for All

Philly Considers Wireless Internet for
All (AP)

Philly Considers Wireless Internet for
All (AP) 09/01/2004 10:05 AM
AP - For about $10 million, city officials believe they can turn all 135 square miles of Philadelphia into the world's largest wireless Internet hot spot.

"Philly Considers Wireless Internet for
All"

"Philly Considers Wireless Internet for
All" 09/02/2004 08:29 AM

Philly Considers Wireless Internet for
All!

Philly Considers Wireless Internet for
All! 09/01/2004 01:16 PM
news.yahoo.com via Drudge Report Sep 1 2004 5:26PM GMT

Update 4: Philly Considers Wireless
Internet for All

Update 4: Philly Considers Wireless
Internet for All 09/01/2004 05:05 PM
Forbes Sep 1 2004 9:14PM GMT

Update 2: Philly Considers Wireless
Internet for All

Update 2: Philly Considers Wireless
Internet for All 09/01/2004 08:15 AM
Forbes Sep 1 2004 11:42AM GMT

Update 5: Philly Considers Wireless
Internet for All

Update 5: Philly Considers Wireless
Internet for All 09/01/2004 10:46 PM
Forbes Sep 2 2004 1:07AM GMT

Yahoo! News - Philly Considers Wireless
Internet for All

Yahoo! News - Philly Considers Wireless
Internet for All 09/02/2004 12:57 AM
Philly

news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=562&u=/ap/20040901/ap_on_h i_te/wireless_cities_7&printer=1
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Philly Plans Citywide Wireless Internet

Philly Plans Citywide Wireless Internet 09/01/2004 10:46 PM
iMedia Connection Sep 2 2004 2:31AM GMT

Philly considers free WiFi for all

Philly considers free WiFi for all 09/01/2004 11:34 AM
Xeni Jardin: Patricio López says, "Let's hope this becomes the norm in a few years! For about $10 million, city officials believe they can turn all 135 square miles of Philadelphia into the world's largest wireless Internet hot spot." Link to news story

Philadelphia Considers Citywide Wireless
Internet

Philadelphia Considers Citywide Wireless
Internet 09/01/2004 08:37 PM
VOA Sep 2 2004 0:11AM GMT

Philly unveils details for citywide
wireless net

Philly unveils details for citywide
wireless net 04/08/2005 04:23 AM
The City of Philadelphia Thursday created a non-profit corporation to oversee the development of a citywide wireless network.

AT&T Wireless Considers 2 Offers
(washingtonpost.com)

AT&T Wireless Considers 2 Offers
(washingtonpost.com) 02/17/2004 01:15 AM
washingtonpost.com - The board of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. met late into the night yesterday in New York to consider competing $38 billion all-cash bids from Cingular Wireless LLC and British company Vodafone Group PLC, according to sources close to the deal.

Internet writer warned of Philly airport
slowdowns days before they happened.

Internet writer warned of Philly airport
slowdowns days before they happened. 12/28/2004 07:39 AM
Fox43tv.com - Tue Dec 28, 11:22 am GMT

Philadelphia Considers Free Citywide
Wireless Access

Philadelphia Considers Free Citywide
Wireless Access 09/01/2004 11:56 AM

U.S. considers renewing Internet tax ban
- 11/18/2004

U.S. considers renewing Internet tax ban
- 11/18/2004 02/05/2005 09:42 PM
Metronews Feb 5 2005 11:57PM GMT

FCC Considers Internet Phone Call
Regulation

FCC Considers Internet Phone Call
Regulation 12/02/2003 01:47 AM
Red Nova Dec 1 2003 8:14PM ET

Canada considers blocking Internet drug
sales

Canada considers blocking Internet drug
sales 01/06/2005 02:33 AM
Houston Chronicle Jan 6 2005 6:44AM GMT

Canada considers limiting cross-border
Internet pharmacies

Canada considers limiting cross-border
Internet pharmacies 01/05/2005 06:49 PM
SiliconValley.com Jan 5 2005 11:01PM GMT

Canada considers shutting down Internet
prescription drug trade

Canada considers shutting down Internet
prescription drug trade 01/06/2005 10:18 PM

Nigeria: Hi-Tech:- Fcc Considers
Regulating Internet-Based Phone Calls

Nigeria: Hi-Tech:- Fcc Considers
Regulating Internet-Based Phone Calls 02/18/2004 04:02 PM
AllAfrica.com Feb 18 2004 8:48PM GMT

Nebo Wireless Announces International
Wireless Link for Dialup Internet Access

Nebo Wireless Announces International
Wireless Link for Dialup Internet Access 06/05/2005 11:18 PM
This new product release from Nebo Wireless LLC, North Andover, Massachusetts, USA, gives dialup Internet subscribers outside North America the advantage and convenience of wireless access for under $50.00 US Dollars. Click on www.nebowireless.com for additional information. [PRWEB May 30, 2005]

White House Considers Role in Wine Case:
Supreme Court Dispute Over Internet
Sales Ban Splits Bush's Political

White House Considers Role in Wine Case:
Supreme Court Dispute Over Internet
Sales Ban Splits Bush's Political 07/29/2004 01:10 AM
Washington Post Jul 29 2004 5:52AM GMT

Philly going Wi-Fi

Philly going Wi-Fi 04/10/2005 03:57 AM
Usatoday.com - Sat Apr 9, 08:04 am GMT

Philly goes Wi-Fi crazy

Philly goes Wi-Fi crazy 09/02/2004 04:02 AM
Let them eat broadband

More on Philly Network

More on Philly Network 09/10/2004 01:01 PM
Not to beat a dead horse, but an Investor's Business Daily article offers some good insights into Philadelphia's plans to build a Wi-Fi network: As much as I hate to sympathize with a huge telco, I have to agree with comments from a Verizon spokesman. He points out that city governments don't pay the same kinds of taxes as companies like Verizon so it's not really fair when companies have to compete with cities that use taxpayer money to build networks. While I like the idea of cities building low-cost networks, it strikes me as odd that they may end up competing against companies--large or small--trying to make a business out of Internet access. 3rd Wave, a provider of hotspot services in Atlanta, suggests that it's not necessary for cities to build networks using taxpayer dollars. It's not news when cities talk about spending money to research the affects of building a Wi-Fi network. "It's news when a city actually brings the Wi-Fi online, which we have done for Atlanta without any public money or help," Rich Tanksley, a 3rd Wave spokesman, wrote in an email exchange. However, 3rd Wave and cities often have slightly different goals. 3rd Wave networks are hotspots that may be useful to customers while they sit in a cafe or other public locations. The cities like Philadelphia are usually trying to offer residents a low cost broadband Internet access option in their homes and anywhere they travel in the city. At the end of the day, however, the problem is that cities wouldn't be interested in building Wi-Fi or other networks if they had good broadband service--landline or wireless--from commercial providers. On a side note, I'd like to encourage my fellow writers to resist the temptation to cite the largest Wi-Fi network in the world. Some writers said the Philadelphia network would be the largest in the world, the Investor's Business Daily piece points to Taipei, Taiwan as the biggest city to offer Wi-Fi, and a recent Seattle Post-Intelligencer article describes a network in Washington that covers 1,500 square miles. The moral of the story is that it's really hard to figure out who has the largest network in the world and that designation probably changes by the day anyway so it will probably suffice to just discuss really large networks....

Philly CIO in Depth

Philly CIO in Depth 02/01/2005 09:13 PM
David Haskin at Mobile Pipeline interviews Philadelphia CIO Dianah Neff: The article is wide ranging and reveals more of the plan that will be unveiled Feb. 7. Neff argues--as I have--that it's disingenuous for giant telecoms to decry city tax-free financing because, first of all, that's not how Philadelphia will pay for this network (nor did they ever say they would use tax-free bonds for it), and second, the telecoms have received without complaint billions of dollars in subsidies. As one article has pointed out, Verizon received enormous payments in the last decade to encourage them to build services that they didn't. Instead of being penalized, the bill passed in Pennsylvania gives them another decade with more incentives. Neff tips her hand a little about the unique public-private partnership that she's been alluding to in recent weeks: I've been pushing the notion of vendor-neutral municipal networks that provide a place for all ISPs on an equal basis, including Verizon, and that don't put the city in the business of being a provider. Rather, a municipality becomes an enabler; the money for logical access is all spent in the private sector and non-profit sector. Neff cited the existence of hundreds of ISPs that she hopes will be part of the city's venture, which makes it sound an awful lot like a vendor-neutral network....

Philly Releases Plan

Philly Releases Plan 04/07/2005 12:42 PM

The Philly plan suggests non-profit, wholesale model: Philadelphia's business plan for their wireless city-wide network is out. Esme Vos interviewed the CIO of Philadelphia on her site, linked above. The report and the RFP are available for download in PDF form.

In its broadest form, Philly proposes to create a separate non-profit organization which will conduct fundraising and obtain bank loans. Its finances will be separate from the city by charter. The non-profit will not operate as an ISP, but will handle infrastructure. This is a model that I have suggested in the past is ideal for municipalities because it promotes competition for the customer among many entities without requiring that each entity build their own infrastructure as a cost of entry into the market.

The business plan includes extensive technical and financial details that now must be factored into the very broad and often inaccurate criticisms of Philadelphia's plan. For instance, previous criticism suggested the plan didn't include WiMax in its thinking. Oops. It does. Extensively, in both pre-WiMax and certified WiMax forms.

Much of the criticism suggested that the city was going to give away Wi-Fi to everyone, thought that Wi-Fi receivers inside laptops wouldn't receive signals indoors, and that the number of nodes was unreasonably small. My reading of the report finds these criticisms specifically answered in depth.

Philly Opened the Floodgates

Philly Opened the Floodgates 09/02/2004 01:45 PM
Since yesterday when the city of Philadelphia said it hopes to build Wi-Fi networks covering the entire city, two other cities say they're also looking into similar plans: The city of Madison, Wis. is closely watching the Philadelphia plan to blanket the city in Wi-Fi in hopes of following suit. This is one of the first times I've seen a city official discuss the affect that a city-run network might have on other commercial services. Madison officials are carefully considering how they should go about building the network and what it should cost for users because of the affect the network might have on other operators. I've wondered how commercial operators feel about municipalities using city funds to build networks that compete for their business. In addition, a city councilor in Boston said he wants to cover all of Boston with Wi-Fi [link via John]. While the cities of Philadelphia, Boston, and Madison talk about building networks, Culver City, Calif. said that next Thursday it will launch a free Wi-Fi network in its downtown area. Vernier and Firetide are supplying the equipment for the network. In other new network news, the State of Michigan also announced that SBC would build hotspots in ten Michigan State-owned parks, docks, and rest areas....

Philly WiFi: The Gloves Come Off

Philly WiFi: The Gloves Come Off 03/14/2005 06:12 PM

It has been interesting to watch the debate progress over the city of Philadelphia's plan to create a city-wide outdoor public WiFi network. The project generated a lot of attention when first announced. At that time, Verizon and Comcast didn't have much to say about it. Then word leaked out that a bill in the Pennsylvania legislature would prohibit Philadelphia and other cities from engaging in such projects. (After a firestorm of protest, Philadelphia got an exception.)

Now that the city has moved along with its plans, the incumbent phone and cable companies are hard ening their opposition. They are talking as though the governing is nationalizing broadband access. Nothing could be further from the truth. The city of Philadelphia is doing what cities do -- look for ways to provide valuable services to its citizens, when the market doesn't meet the entire need. It isn't killing off private competitors. City-run public housing competes with private real estate, and city buses compete with private cabs, but no one seems to have a problem with that.

What gets lost in this debate is that the city and its citizens will benefit in many other ways from a ubiquitous public WiFi network. The city spends millions of dollars on wireless networks for police, fire department, and other city departments. This will decrease costs and greatly increase capabilities for those service. For example, think of how city building inspectors could use the network to access plans and send filings back in real-time. And that's just the start.

Let's not allow reflexive opposition to "bureaucracies" to kill a worthwhile program. Sometimes governments do good things too.

Cost at center of Philly Wi-Fi debate

Cost at center of Philly Wi-Fi debate 04/09/2005 12:57 AM
ZDNet Apr 9 2005 3:54AM GMT

Notorious Philly Cat Burglar Nabbed
Again

Notorious Philly Cat Burglar Nabbed
Again 01/17/2004 11:21 PM
Reuters via Wired News Jan 18 2004 2:39AM GMT

Philly Police Charge Man in $1M Art
Theft

Philly Police Charge Man in $1M Art
Theft 12/30/2003 01:36 AM
Reuters via Wired News Dec 30 2003 0:39AM ET

Philly: Let Free WiFi Ring

Philly: Let Free WiFi Ring 09/01/2004 09:54 AM
CBS News Sep 1 2004 2:26PM GMT

Philly Plans to Become One Big Hot Spot
(PC World)

Philly Plans to Become One Big Hot Spot
(PC World) 09/22/2004 03:56 AM
PC World - City will build the world's largest mesh Wi-Fi network to spread Internet access.

Philly Fans' Financial Fumble

Philly Fans' Financial Fumble 02/05/2005 10:18 PM
In a pre-emptive losing move, Eagles fans bet the house on the big game... literally.

Philly.com - "The Region's Home Page"

Philly.com - "The Region's Home Page" 11/05/2003 08:41 AM
I've been following the story of the mayor's race in philly, where katz v street is big news .. VOTER INTIMIDATION .. It's getting ugly

philly.com/mld/philly/7179928.htm
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Philly Announces Plan Tomorrow

Philly Announces Plan Tomorrow 04/06/2005 05:35 PM

Muniwireless.c om has the details on the conference call: Philly mayor and CIO will announce the details of their metropolitan-scale wireless network's business plan. The next phase should be issuing an RFP and considering vendors and financing.

Philly plans world's largest mesh Wi-Fi
net

Philly plans world's largest mesh Wi-Fi
net 09/21/2004 12:45 PM
VENICE -- The idea sounds good on paper: Build a mesh network of wireless Wi-Fi base stations and let users roam around an entire city instead of providing limited connectivity in a handful of hot spots. But will it work? The City of Philadelphia hopes so.

Philly Mayor Fund-Raiser Is Subpoenaed

Philly Mayor Fund-Raiser Is Subpoenaed 01/10/2004 06:46 PM
Reuters via Wired News Jan 10 2004 3:43PM ET
Grok Description matches for Philly Considers Wireless Internet for All
GrokA matches for Philly Considers Wireless Internet for All

Philly Considers Wireless Internet for All

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