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Houston, Texas is currently in the early process of implementing city wide wifi, thought it's a lot more difficult here do the relative geographical sizes of the two cities.

  http://savemuniwireless.org/blog/001109.html
http://houston.about.com/b/a/257244.htm

Philadelphia also has city-wide wifi at this point I believe.

The comment you replied to was probably thinking of Texas house bill 789, which never passed.

It's pretty widely accepted that the government has a role to play in providing roads and bridges. This is basic infrastructure that enables the rest of the free market economy.

Do the people making this argument also think that the government should get out of the "road" business, and that all roads should be privately run toll roads?

Broadband is the 21st century equivalent of a road. If a region doesn't have broadband, it becomes the economic equivalent of a third world country with dirt roads.

Adina Levin
SaveMuniWireless.org

You're right just complain about how this is going to do nothing. Spend your time explaining to others on Slashdot how they are wasting their time.

Don't write a letter.
Don't call your congressperson.
Don't join others http://www.savemuniwireless.org/ who support this cause.

Seriously, unless you are a libertarian, a SBC employee or worried about the effect of cheap high speed internet on the masses this should be your issue. SBC is fighting for their interests I respect that. But shutting down municipal wireless is not the answer. Let your congressperson know.

This same bill will be brought to your state (in some form) next (if it hasn't already).

The bill history for HB789 is interesting. Notably, it shows how quickly (and without a recorded vote so those of us who live in Texas can't even accuse our representatives of actually supporting this legislation) the bill passed.

Austin Wireless and Austin Wireless City both have coverage of what it means to Austin. The Save Muni Wireless group was put together in response to challenges like this; they include much better commentary on why HB789 is a bad idea than would be worth repeating here. If you really want to understand the issue, check some of these sites.

Even the High Tech Broadband Coalition (a group of telecom, hardware, and software companies) was against HB789.

Several local news stories:

• News8 Austin on "end of free Wi-Fi" - News8 Austin is the local Time Warner cable news channel.
• Austin Business Journal on "Free Wi-Fi Faces Challenges"

For those in Texas who want this law changed, it's probably a good time to call or write your state Senator today before this bill sails through committee and a floor non-vote.

Here we have Cable, DSL, Wireless, Satellite, and some places have Powerline, and Fiber Optic.

Several points:

• You're just lucky. Many of these choices may be flat-out unavailable in some geographic areas, and not everybody has enough money to move to another geographic area.
• Cable and satellite Internet access are often tied to a subscription to MPAA-owned cable channels.
• The speed of light up to a satellite and back down to earth is slow enough to create noticeable latency in an interactive application such as action gaming or web browsing. Notably, Xbox Live is not compatible with satellite Internet access.
• Many companies are trying to ban competitors from providing wireless service, either by buying up all the spectrum or by buying state legislatures.

As I see it, the solution to this is wireless.

Which the FCC also controls. Watch the local cable company and the local telco buy up all the spectrum and then jack up the price of DSL because fixed-wireless competition can't buy its own spectrum to run WiMAX. And/or watch state communications commissions ban municipal WiMAX service.

http://www.savemuniwireless.org/ has information on how to contact your Texas legislator and more information on HB 789

http://www.savemuniwireless.org/ has information on how to contact the Texas legislator and other information about this bill

The anti-muni provisions of Texas HR 789 will be highly harmful to Texans. It certainly will harm communities. How it harms any given community, however, will vary. Texas is a very big place.

In metro areas, such as Austin, wireless access is proving to be a mighty tool for economic development and for bridging the digital divide. These absolutely are causes of civic concern, and municipalities should be involved.

Here in Austin, for instance, the private Austin Wireless City project has been a leader in the drive to provide wireless access. The city has been involved, but it's mostly been logistical and organizational support, not funding. This sort of public/private partnership is good for people and good for business, but could be prohibited by HR 789.

In rural areas, the story is much grimmer. I hear that government shouldn't compete with private enterprise, but what if private enterprise isn't even showing up to compete? The broadband fiber isn't landing in the small towns, because SBC can't justify the buildout investment.

In the last century there was a big push for rural electrification. Internet access is the 21st counterpart. If these small towns don't get broadband access, they are going to find their economic options significantly limited and their quality of life impacted. These towns need the right to assure local infrastructure.

This issue is not about free lunches or something for nothing. It's about making sure citizens and markets determine what's right for our communities, and not the special interests of the incumbent communication providers.

If you live in Texas, please visit the Save Muni Wireless web site to learn more about the issue and what you can do.

Our link has been mentioned once in this thread, but I want to highlight it. If you want to learn more about the battle to stop the anti-muni network provisions of HR 789, or (please! please!) if you are a Texan interested in helping to get this stopped, please visit our web site.

I certainly hope that the Lege doesn't make free access provided by NGOs illegal (imagine not being able to run your own AP out of your house!)

Austin Wireless City

Austin Free Net

Austin Wireless.Net

EFF Austin

Save Muni Wireless