Pacific Views

Municipal WiFi

The city of Philadelphia is considering making the entire area a WiFi hotspot. Of course, some people aren't too happy with that:

...But free citywide Internet access would appear to pose a competitive threat to businesses such as local phone carrier Verizon Communications Inc. and cable provider Comcast Corp. Both companies have invested heavily in upgrading their networks to provide high-speed Internet connections for a monthly fee.

A free service might also hurt Verizon's wireless business, which is spending $1 billion to upgrade its network with a technology that will enable speedier Web access for laptops and mobile phones.

John Yunker, an analyst with Byte Level Research, said those companies could face a serious challenge if cheap, or free, Wi-Fi proliferates.

"When you see initiatives like Philadelphia's, you are conditioning people to expect free or very low cost Internet service. And that is going to be a problem for providers who have built a business model around charging a fee," he said.

While business users might be willing to pay extra for reliability or national coverage, a free service might prove more than adequate for more recreational Web use, Yunker said. ...

I know I'd feel just terrible if a local government managed to outcompete private industry. Terrible. Really. I swear, I'm not smirking behind my keyboard at all.