[IP] more on Rendell caves and signs HB30 - Verizon can prevent municipal networks statewide
Begin forwarded message:
From: Declan McCullagh <declan@xxxxxxxx>
Date: December 1, 2004 5:05:59 PM EST
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Cc: dmaltz@xxxxxxxxxx
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@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: December 1, 2004 3:40:31 PM EST
To: 100x100-cmu-reading-group@xxxxxxxxxx
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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