[IP] Philadelphia to fight ban on municipal networks
Begin forwarded message:
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: November 20, 2004 8:10:12 AM EST
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Philadelphia to fight ban on municipal networks
Reply-To: dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[Note: This item comes from friend Esme Vos of MuniWireless.com. DLH]
Philadelphia to fight ban on municipal networks
Dianah Neff, chief information officer for the city of Philadelphia,
posted this comment to my last article about the passage of House Bill
30 (see <http://www.muniwireless.com/archives/000503.html>) prohibiting
municipalities from delivering telecoms services. I did not want her
comment to be "lost" in the comments section so here it is:
"This afternoon, Nov. 19, 2004, the Pennsylvania House and Senate
passed HB 30 without amendment to the prohibition against government
entities or any agency or non-profit set up by a government from
providing broadband access for a fee.
The City of Philadelphia intends to aggressively pursue a veto of the
Bill. The bill as it stands is not good for Philadelphia or the State
of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia is ranked as the 33 most wired or
wireless City in the U.S. With the implementation of Wireless
Philadelphia, the City would have moved into the top 3 cities in the
country. With just the announcement to create a business plan and
funding model to implement Wireless Philadelphia, we have generated
world-wide interest and support.
Today less than 60 percent of the city's neighborhoods even have the
option to subscribe to high-speed broadband (DSL or cable modem). The
City believes adamantly that any citizen or business should have the
opportunity to compete in this global, knowledge economy regardless of
a neigborhood's economic status or area household density. Affordable,
universal access benefits everyone.
The City intends to agressively pursue getting the Governor to veto the
Bill. Should that fail, we will actively pursue other options of
ensuring universal, affordable broadband access for every citizen,
non-profit, business and tourist in Philadelphia."
Note: Read my articles about Scottsburg and Auburn, two communities in
Indiana, that decided to deploy their own networks.
No broadband, no jobs <http://www.muniwireless.com/archives/000506.html>
Scottsburg, Indiana wireless network saves the community
<http://www.muniwireless.com/archives/000315.html>
The interests of service providers like Verizon do not always coincide
with the needs and desires of communities. This is why municipalities
need to have the option of building their own networks and providing
service.
Posted by Muniwireless November 20, 2004
Archives at: <http://Wireless.Com/Dewayne-Net>
Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>
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