jack barse

In September I noted that Philadelphia plans to deploy 802.11b across the entire city and make the service available for free to certain segments of the population. I also said that the incumbent wireless operators might not think competing with the city for customers was that good an idea.

I guess they failed to convince the city to alter their plans so instead they paid their lobbyists to convince the State Legislature to get involved. From the Associated Press:

Lobbyists Try to Kill Philly Wireless Plan
Tue Nov 23, 8:12 PM ET

By MARC LEVY, Associated Press Writer

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Philadelphia’s plan to offer inexpensive wireless Internet as a municipal service — the most ambitious yet by a major U.S. city — has collided with commercial interests including the local phone company, Verizon Communications Inc.

In fact, a bill on Gov. Ed Rendell’s desk that could humble Philadelphia’s ambitions began 19 months ago as a proposal drafted by lobbyists for telecommunications companies.

Regional and long-distance phone companies, who sell broadband Internet to consumers and businesses, have in recent months intensified a national campaign to quash municipal wireless initiatives like Philadelphia’s as dozens of cities and towns have either begun or announced such plans — from San Francisco to Chaska, Minn., to St. Cloud, Fla.

What’s interesting is that Verizon isn’t in the WiFi business; it sells CDMA 1X EV-DO services across its network. One could make the argument that a free WiFi service would cut into Verizon’s EV-DO revenue, but that’s a stretch since the two protocols are designed to satisfy different requirements. Verizon couldn’t possibly argue that the low-income people who would be the main beneficiaries of the city’s network would be potential users of its EV-DO service, which costs $80/month plus the cost of hardware.

The broadband providers do not market to low-income consumers for obvious reasons. So unless the city provides the services those folks are not likely to be able to access the Net, and these days that’s a disadvantage. And one that can be overcome.