“District to Seek Wireless Internet that Aids Poor”
Washington Post,
Arshad Mohammed,
Thursday, March 9, 2006
The D.C. government is preparing to ask companies to bid on building a wireless Internet system through much of the city, including free service for low-income residents.
But unlike other municipalities such as Philadelphia and San Francisco that have commissioned such networks city-wide, the District plans to give its contract to the company that goes furthest in serving low-income residents with free Web access and even free computers and training.
This is a valuable idea that the City of Toronto should be paying more attention to. In all the discussions surrounding the potential impact and applications of Toronto Hydro Telecom’s proposed wireless mesh architecture, there has been far too little conversation about how the new network can be used to reach underserved communities and small businesses.
D.C.’s Mayor Williams describes the rationale for his unique approach to municipal wireless:
“Access to technology is like access to books: it’s an important medium of communication and learning and opportunity,” Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) said yesterday in an interview. “Other cities are doing it and I want our city doing it too.”
Williams said he was not worried that some areas might get left out. “I think there is sufficient market incentive to serve the other areas of the city. The problem is there isn’t sufficient market incentive to serve the lowest-income parts of our city, and that’s what I am trying to do here.”
The winning company would get an exclusive, eight-year franchise to attach wireless devices to District-owned street lights and buildings. This of course, is a key difference between DC and Toronto, since Toronto Hydro purchased Toronto’s street light system for $60 million last year, and as an independent operator, doesn’t require City approval to run its network.
The approach taken by D.C.’s mayor underlines the potential of a city-wide mesh. That is, leveraging the lower-cost of wireless networking technology to meet the needs of underserved individuals, communities, and small businesses. The D.C. plan demonstrates foresight, and while not entirely replicable in Toronto, is an admirable example of innovative leadership.