City of Houston Turns on Free Downtown Wi-Fi
When Earthlink walked away from its plans to cover Houston's 600 square miles with Wi-Fi Internet access, it gave the city $5 million as a payoff. Mayor Bill White said he would use that money to set up wireless access "bubbles" in public places such as parks, as well as in low-income areas.
From Houston Chronicle, August 28, 2008
FCC: Commissioners Tate, Adelstein Fates Uncertain
FCC Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein, a Democrat, and Deborah Taylor Tate, a Republican, are swinging in the election-year winds.
From SNL, August 28, 2008
Sacramento's Bid for Comprehensive Wi-Fi Goes Bye-Bye
The City Council voted Tuesday to terminate a contract with a technology consortium that planned to blanket the city with a free wireless network.
From Sacbee.com, August 26, 2008
Municipal Fiber Networks Bounce Back
Despite some high-profile failures, the deep-seated need for broadband keeps municipalities on the fiber-to-the-home-track.
From Telephony Online, August 25, 2008
New York Comptroller Advises to Scrap $2 Billion Network
New York State should ditch a $2 billion plan for a statewide wireless network for emergency workers unless a unit of Tyco Electronics Ltd can fix the already delayed system's technology problems, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said on Thursday.
From Reuters, August 25, 2008
UK.gov to Spend Hundreds of Millions on Snooping Silo
The government is pressing ahead with plans to spend hundreds of millions of pounds on a massive central silo for all UK communications data.
From The Register, August 25, 2008
Muni Wireless: It's Your Business Plan, Stupid
Anne-Marie Fowler begins every project with a basic premise: all city wireless projects are business endeavors; they are not charitable. These endeavors need to obtain cash investment, lines of credit--and revenue streams to back both.
From Wi-Fi Planet, August 25, 2008
China's First Wireless City Group Launching in Guangdong
Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan and Dongguan are the first batch of cities to be connected with a wireless network, according to a forum organized by Guangdong's Department of Information Industry.
From China Knowledge, August 25, 2008
Brookings on e-Government, Public-Sector Advances
Despite the great promise of technological advancement, public sector innovation has tended to be small-scale and gradual.
From Brookings Institution, August 25, 2008
MetroFi Antennas Could Cost $60,000 to Remove
Estimates for removal are around $90,000; subtracting out a $30,000 bond for removal that was part of the MetroFi contract would still mean that Portland’s taxpayers could pay up to $60,000 to get those antennas taken down.
From DSL Reports, August 13, 2008
