IP Democracy: Comcast Dissed in Its Hometown?

Richard Siklos has a unique take on Philadelphia’s muncipal Wi-Fi initiative in today’s New York Times, raising the question about whether the city’s effort to mount wireless broadband is an insult to Comcast, which has its headquarters in Philly.

On the face of it, the fact that the city is moving ahead without Comcast’s involvement - indeed, over Comcast’s open derision - raises a lot of intriguing questions not only about wireless Internet services but also about how much brotherly love has been lost between the nation’s largest cable operator and Philadelphia, the fifth-largest city. It also illustrates the frustration that Brian L. Roberts, the chief executive of Comcast, must feel: his company has signed up more high-speed Internet customers than any other and churns out buckets of cash, yet it has a sagging stock price because the market perceives that any number of unproven new businesses are going to usurp its position. Add Wireless Philadelphia - brought to you by the people who regulate aspects of his business - to the list.

David L. Cohen, a Comcast VP who has deep political ties in the city, says Comcast isn’t feeling insulted. “I don’t think corporately or personally we feel betrayed or insulted or victimized in any way by what the city has done,” Mr. Cohen said.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on October 30, 2005 11:03 AM to IP Democracy