Les Jones

Municipal Wi-Fi > Philadelphia's Citywide Wi-Fi Plan

Fortune looks at the phenomenon of cities offering wireless Internet. There's a twist to Philadelphia's plan that I didn't realize. Access will be free in places like public parks, but residential access will cost $10-20 per month, not free as in San Francisco.

Internet providers who serve the city are predictably not thrilled with the city's plan to use taxpayer dollars to compete with private companies. I can't blame them. Why is Philadelphia entering the residential Internet access market? Philadelphia has some of the worst public schools in the country. Why is the local government worrying about wi-fi when they have problems in their schools. And why should anyone trust them to run an Internet service any better than they ran their schools.

Disclaimer and reverse disclaimer: Philadelphia is partnering with EarthLink, a company in which I own stock. Even if this is good for EarthLink, I'm not sure if it's good for Philadelphia or the ISP industry.