11.29.2004

Philadelphia's Wi-Fi...



Should definitely happen.

I haven't heard it yet, but NPR's All Things Considered reported this morning:

Philadelphia wants to hook up the entire city with high-speed, wireless Internet access in order to spur economic development. But Verizon has successfully backed a state bill that would make it illegal for any government entity in to compete with the telecom company in providing high-speed Internet service. NPR's Larry Abramson reports.

Should Philadelphia be able to spend state funds to provide a public good? Yes. In this specific case, Philadelphia is the obvious place to pilot an information technology project, given the preponderance of service industries headquartered in the city. The bill should mandate a passing on of hard and soft knowledge to other cities in the state, in return for the use of state funds.



As for Verizon, I would say to it what many corporations like it have said to small businesses they've edged out: innovate or get out of the race. Why should the public subsidize Verizon's existence through the opportunity cost of not having the public good?

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