Municipal WiFi

Municipal WiFi Discussion:=

Class notes, 3/13

Why have Municipal WiFi?

What problems are cities trying to solve?

• Economic Development
  • Attract Young Talent
    • But how effective is municipal wifi as a tool in this direction?
    • "Drop in the bucket" - only a $20M profit
    • Other factors may far outweigh this kind of program
      • Education, esp. higher education
      • Tolerance of diversity
      • Social "buzz," network effects
  • Attract New Business
    • Conventions and other business meetings
    • "A city on the move" - shed rust-belt image
      • But see above; other factors are probably far more important to this perception.
  • Be the first city to do it, leads to tourism
  • Counterpoint: technology lock-in
    • If wireless is turned into a public utility, then we might miss out on some technological improvements that would've been brought along by a free market.
      • E.g. WiMAX - better than 802.11; should cities wait?
      • The rapid advancement of network technology cuts both ways: going with any one could create lockin. But new developments come along so often; waiting too long would freeze up the whole process.
    • Counter to the counterpoint: the need to exploit tech for profit creates its own lockdowns. See Bluetooth restrictions in Verizon phones.
    • At the bottom, is the Internet different from electricity? Is there a reason that municipalities and states should (or shouldn't) stay out of network services?
      • Network tech is currently developing much more quickly than electricity, and public services are (at least conventionally) much slower to develop.
      • But, the Internet has piggybacked on existing public utility technologies for quite some time.
      • Reasons for having public utilities in the first place: is it because they're important, or because the government is the only organization with the resources to get the infrastructure in place?
        • Or, to ensure consistent access and universal use - don't want private entities e.g. restraining trucks from running on the roads.
• Bridging the Digital Divide