IP Democracy: Muni Wi-Fi on the Rise

Mike Grebb has a good piece in Wired on the growing number of cities that seek to build municipal Wi-Fi networks. (Disclosure: Mike is a contributor to my publication IP Media Monitor.) Because of the cost structure, many cities are partnering with private Wi-Fi providers, but that doesn’t mean that social goals go by the wayside.

Philadelphia’s Neff [Dianah Neff, who heads up the City of Philadelphia’s Wi-Fi initiative] said that the city disqualified many vendors early because they didn’t share her social goals. “Some just saw it as building a network and missed the social aspects,” she said.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on October 19, 2005 9:19 AM to IP Democracy