Philly narrows Wi-Fi equipment choice

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Socialism at its finest----r-i-i-ight

Excuse me? The "refereeing or policing" is not going to provide low-cost broadband service for those unable to afford the exorbitant rates charged for cable and DSL service, which is the objective of this initiative. I know what it costs here, and $50/month for someone struggling to pay their electricity bill is a chunk of change, especially if they have school-age kids who would probably be the primary beneficiaries of the plan.

With respect to costs, I don't know what city you live in, but the auditors here are pretty thorough, recently catching even excessive overtime charges on projects by city administrative employees. And unless you live in some idyllic utopia where everyone is of like mind, you can bet your SAV that opponents of the plan on City Council (or their equivalent) will be watching costs, overruns, and anything else they can find to scourge their opponents with in the next election.

So what if new technology comes on the scene? That doesn't mean the city has to adopt it for this program. Remember the objective: low-cost access to broadband for those unable to afford it. Once the program is in place, that objective is met. There is no need to adopt new technology for the sake of doing so.

If such a program came to my city, I doubt seriously that I would abandon my DSL provider of eight years for it. They've given consistently excellent service, doubled our speed twice since '98 at no extra charge, and have quality technicians who are actually available by phone and can solve problems and answer questions. Oh, I might add the wireless access, if I found myself needing roaming broadband access, and if it were cheap enough to be cost-effective.

Furthermore, I imagine, just as was the case when cable access finally came here 18 months after DSL, that the competition would be good for the body politic, bringing to the commercial customers more and better services as the providers ramp up their efforts to keep current customers and gain new customers. Frankly, I see that as a net plus for everyone concerned.

It is no longer the case that 'net access is a luxury. Just as at one time telephony services, and even household electricity (pre-TVA) were considered luxuries, the time has come that such services have become societal necessities, and those who need them and don't have them in our post-industrial technology age are disenfranchised Americans. I don't know the population of Philadelphia, but the projected cost per capita seems entirely reasonable to me to provide these services to all the people of the city.

And, hey, don't forget, there will be a very large percentage of mom and pops and other business users who can and will take advantage of this network as well, lowering their costs of doing business and promoting commercial activity in the city. Sounds like a win-win to me.

Posted by: eustace   Posted on: 08/22/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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