CNET reports “Philly Wi-Fi project passes final hurdle.” Pricing breaks will be available for low-income subscribers, while the standard access cost for 1Mbps download speeds is only $20 per month.

Earthlink won the contract to install and manage the system, while Wireless Philadelphia, a newly-formed nonprofit, will “oversee the citywide Wi-Fi project and also provide training and low-cost computer equipment to low-income families.”

Wireless Philadelphia’s mission statement is quite high-minded:

“Wireless Philadelphia aims to strengthen the economy and transform Philadelphia’s neighborhoods by providing wireless internet access throughout the city. Wireless Philadelphia will create a digital infrastructure to help citizens, businesses, schools and community organizations make effective use of this technology to achieve their goals while providing a greater experience for visitors to the City.”

Can’t wait to see how this works out! I think it will prove a clever economic development strategy, and that other cities will quickly follow suit.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006 at 12:13 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.