Philadelphia Experiment With Municipal Wi-Fi Not Working Out So Well

TLF's Adam Thierer notes an update on the city's flailing city-run wifi project in the Philadephia Business Journal:

The city of Philadelphia said Wednesday it intends to purchase, for $2 million, the wireless network constructed by EarthLink Inc. to turn the entire city into a Wifi hotspot. The city said it intends to exercise an option in an agreement signed in August to buy the network from Network Acquisition Co. LLC, which took the network over from Atlanta-based EarthLink (NASDAQ:ELNK) in June 2008.

As Thierer comments, "In other words, taxpayers are stuck picking up the tab for this failed experiment and now have to hope that the city can somehow manage it into profitability."

I noted city-run wi-fi's history of failure here. More from Reason on government's attempts to run and regulate the Internet here.

Comments

[db]

"In other words, taxpayers are stuck picking up the tab for this failed experiment and now have to hope that the city can somehow manage it into profitability."

Well, good thing this is what governments do best--turn failure into SUCCESSFUL FREEDOM ENTERPRISE FOR GREAT JUSTICE.

[?]

I don't see the failure. Citizens got speeched at, their money was rightly appropriated to the politically connected businesses who deserve it, and more of the same is called for. Circle of liiiiiiiife.

[Aresen]

If at first you don't succeed,

maybe you can get the government to bail you out.

[T]

I predict somebody is going to have some very nice, albeit obsolete, wi-fi equipment by the time the city gets around to failing and auctioning it off for pennies on the dollar.

[Tonio]

Well, the one good thing about this is that when corrupt Philly cops unplug your security camera and steal the tape while looting your bodega that your hidden streaming wi-fi camera will still catch the action.

[TP]

"We're effectively getting a lot of valuable equipment in a fire sale. This was a no-brainer. It's worth more than $2 million even as scrap," Frank said.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/79477132.html

[capitol l]

WOOOOOOOOOOO!!

[capitol l]

Sorry, thought I was on pensblog.

[Pro Libertate]

Shouldn't the photo be from the movie of the same name?

[Paul]

"In other words, taxpayers are stuck picking up the tab for this failed experiment and now have to hope that the city can somehow manage it into profitability."

It won't and it never has to. It'll be like any other public service, transporation- etc., it will run at a deep loss, but that won't mean they'll turn it off.

[Abercrombie and Fitch]

Thank you!

[70-236]

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