[CUWiN] Wireless Philadelphia

[John Kintree]

On April 7, 2005, Philadelphia issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to build
a 135 square mile, citywide wireless network.  Developed in the face of
strong opposition from telephone companies, the Business Plan for Wireless
Philadelphia calls for:

 * ownership of the network by a not-for-profit corporation,
 * no tax dollars to be spent on the network's construction,
 * funds for construction to come from grants and loans,
 * construction and management of the network to be outsourced to a private
computer networking firm,
 * network access to be sold at wholesale prices to independent Internet
Service Providers (ISPs),
 * the ISPs will manage billing and customer service, and re-sell access at
prices of less than $20/month for residential service, and
 * access is to be made available to low-income households at reduced prices,
such as $5/month.

In my opinion, this plan is brilliant.  Philadelphia's Mayor John Street,
Chief Information Officer Dianah Neff, and everyone who contributed to the
plan are deserving of high praise.  A similar plan might work very well for
building a metropolitan wireless network where there are a number of
politically separate municipal and county governments.

Respondents to the RFP are strongly encouraged to attend a pre-proposal
meeting that will take place in the Philadelphia Municipal Services Building
on April 18, 2005.  This will be the first opportunity to guage the strength
of interest on the part of network vendors for submitting proposals.

Other important points on the timeline are:
May 23, 2005 - proposals are due.
September, 2005 - contracts are finalized, and construction begins.
September, 2006 - construction is finished, and the network becomes
operational.

I am going to be keeping a close watch on Philadelphia.  The Business Plan,
RFP, and other documents relating to Wireless Philadelphia can be found at:
http://www.phila.gov/wireless/
Regards,
John Kintree
citizen of planet Earth
http://www.bbtbillion.org