IP Democracy: DC Seeks Muni-Wi-Fi That Aids Low-Income Areas

The city of Washington, DC is jumping on the muni-Wi-Fi bandwagon and is gearing up to seek bids on an exclusive eight-year franchise, according to this article by Arshad Mohammed in the Washington Post. In a departure from how other cities have sought out bidders for their muni-broadband projects, DC, which has a large percentage of low-income residents, is giving great weight to the need for free Wi-Fi in less affluent parts of town, even if that means wealthier parts of DC might not get served by the winner.

“The essential evaluation factor will be: The more digital divide clients that you propose to serve within the first three years … the higher your ranking will be in the selection process,” D.C. Deputy Chief Technology Officer Peter Roy, who is writing the District’s request for proposals, said in an interview

Mayor Anthony Williams claims that this approach doesn’t harm the higher income parts of town because “there is sufficient market incentive” to serve those areas, motivation that doesn’t drive network providers to the low-income areas. The District plan, which hasn’t yet been put into RFP format, calls for free service to low-income areas at speeds of 500 kbps/150 kbps.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on March 9, 2006 6:36 PM to IP Democracy