MuniWireless

As I sit here at the United Nations attending a U.N. sponsored event entitled United Nations Meets Web 2.0 and ICT Entrepreneurs, I am reminded of the movie Groundhog Day where Bill Murray’s character, Phil Connors, is given innumerable days to put all the pieces together to ultimately win the affection of his co-anchor. I am a speaker at this event where I explain the role that broadband wireless can play in the development of an emerging country. Everyone in…

Mayor Bill White of Houston has decided to use the $3.5 million paid by EarthLink (out of the $5 million penalty for non-delivery of the Houston network) to build Wi-Fi “bubbles” (strange term, that one) in low-income parts of Houston (click here to read the Houston Chronicle article). The idea is that these “bubbles” will somehow bridge the digital divide.

The first question one should ask is: why isn’t the city of Houston suing EarthLink up the wazoo for breaching the…

Tropos Networks will deploy its MetroMesh to provide wireless broadband service to Houston’s Gulfton Super Neighborhood, as part of the city’s digital inclusion initiative. According to a company press release,  the neighborhood is the first in the initiative to be served. Other partners in the program include Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, and Verizon Wireless. Click here to read the press release.

Wi-Fi Net News has a more comprehensive report on how this particular network fits into the city’s overall digital inclusion initiative. Click here…

Occasionally, we read stories that seem so rooted in the ‘where-have-they-been?’ department that they seem hardly worthy of comment. But when those stories appeared in such revered pages as The New York Times, they should be acknowledged. Last week, The Times caught up with trends in muni wireless following EarthLink’s pullback from the market, noting the diminishment of interest in digital divide programs and the shifting focus in the market. If you’ve been reading this blog, you already know about…

Wireless Philadelphia has received a $50,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The organization has been unusually successful in attracting the support of local and regional organizations.  However, this is the first major national grant to come its way. According to a WP press release, the funds will be used to develop “a series of ‘microsites’ providing important health and social service resources to six vulnerable populations.” The College of Physicians of Philadelphia which sponsors PhillyHealthInfo.org will oversee the development effort.

Click…

Philadelphia’s muni wireless network is in a holding pattern as it waits to see what EarthLink’s proposed sale of the network will mean to its future. Last week, in a interview with local radio station KYW, city Chief Information Officer Terry Phillis discussed the implications of the sale, calling it “by far the best alternative ” for the future of the network.

He acknowledged that finding an appropriate buyer will be challenging. Phillis said the buyer “would have to have a financial model that would…