[CUWiN] Verizon, Philly settle WiFi fight; PA governor signs bill banning municipal WiFi

[Sascha Meinrath]

Hi Paul (et al.),

The law is actually even nastier than what's been reported thus far.  I 
posted a rather biting critique of some of clauses that it contains on my 
blog:  http://www.saschameinrath.com/?q=node/view/49

--Sascha

On Wed, 1 Dec 2004, Paul Zawada wrote:

> Verizon, Philly settle WiFi fight; PA governor signs bill banning municipal WiFi
>
> Verizon Communications yesterday reached an agreement with the city of
> Philadelphia that will let the city move forward with its plans for a
> citywide wide area WiFi network. While specific details about the deal
> have not been released, Verizon agreed to waive its rights under the
> new legislation to bar Philadelphia from providing WiFi service for
> free or at a low-cost.
>
> As for the bill in question, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell
> yesterday signed it into law. This hotly contested new law will make
> it illegal for municipalities to offer their constituents wireless or
> landline
> broadband service without first getting the permission of broadband
> service providers. Without that permission, carriers can block any
> effort to build a municipal network in the commonwealth. Thanks to its
> agreement with Verizon, Philadelphia will be exempt from this
> stipulation. Most insiders claim the law will effectively end the
> municipal WiFi effort in the rest of Pennsylvania, making it almost
> impossible for other cities to negotiate a reasonable rate for
> offering free or low-cost broadband wireless.
>
> For more on Verizon's settlement with Philadelphia and the PA law in
> question:
> - read this report
> <http://lists.fiercemarkets.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=69l,9uiw,8mg,61u0,7wdk,emgc,ew20>
> from AP
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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-- 
Sascha Meinrath
President                 *   Project Coordinator   *   Policy Analyst
Acorn Worker Collective  ***  CU Wireless Network  ***  Free Press
www.acorncollective.com   *   www.cuwireless.net    *   www.freepress.net