[IP] Philadelphia Citywide WLAN in Jeopardy
Begin forwarded message:
From: "David P. Reed" <dpreed@xxxxxxxx>
Date: November 18, 2004 10:34:31 PM EST
To: Bob Frankston <BobF@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, farber@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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).
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