Earthlink Wins New Orleans WiFi Deal, BellSouth Freakout in 5...4...3...
from the you-can't-do-that dept
The story of muni WiFi in New Orleans has been a juicy one. BellSouth's lobbying machine was in high gear in Louisiana, getting a law passed saying that any municipal WiFi network couldn't operate at speeds above 128kbps. When the city dared operate a network at higher speeds in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to assist relief efforts and provide some telecom infrastructure when private companies -- like BellSouth -- couldn't, the company allegedly withdrew the offer it had made to the city to donate a damaged building to house police headquarters. A few months ago, BellSouth lobbied to get the network shut down completely, saying it was illegal under the state law, though city officials refused to comply. Now, Earthlink says it's been awarded a deal build a citywide network in New Orleans, and plans to offer a free 300kbps network alongside paid services of 1Mbps. BellSouth and its cabal will probably react negatively to this network, and try to fight it -- but they'll soon realize that most of these "municipal" WiFi networks really aren't municipal at all. Private companies build, own and operate them, while localities' only contribution, typically, is to allow access to lampposts, utility poles and the like. If BellSouth has such a strong interest in this market, it was welcome to bid for the contract like any other company. Of course, that would require it to compete, when it would rather spend its resources trying to get the competition shut down by laws and regulations instead of taking it on in the marketplace.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
who would want to do that
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
who would want to do that
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
who would want to reply once either?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Beginning of the End
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
A Perfect Case of Screwing One's Self
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Free Access
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Wait a sec...
2.I'm gonna give the best service at the best price so that even if competition arises my superior service record will allow me to prevail.
to
2.Someone might try to compete with me so I'm going to get a law passed that will stop anyone from competing with me.
As a customer I would rather go with a company that goes by thought No.1. At least its is somewhat interested in serving me and not some gang of big suit share holders that just want money (like thought No.2)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
BIG EASY
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: BIG EASY
On a side note, I just drove through New Orleans last week. Its amazing the stark contrast between devastated areas and the downtown areas. If free wifi helps bring back the hundreds of thousands of people they will need to fill vacant jobs and recreate life somewhat similar to what it once was, by god give it to them.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: BIG EASY
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Bell South
Monopolistic minds at work!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]