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Free Wi-Fi Program in Los Angeles Fails to Provide Free Wi-Fi (latimes.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the not-so-hot-spot dept.

The Los Angeles Time found no internet connectivity in 24 public locations, despite a three-year, $500,000 grant to provide them with free Wi-Fi service. Investigations both last year and again in March found that none of the 18+ locations checked were able to successfully connect to the internet, prompting a PUC investigation that confirmed only two of the hotspots were working. The grant was part of a $315 million state-wide program using surcharges on utility bills to promote high-quality communication services, though in Los Angeles most of the money for "underserved" areas was being directed to outreach and education. The Wi-Fi company's executive director said maintaining their networks had proved to be difficult, though one economist argued it would've been more productive to give net-access subsidies directly to the poor, a program the FCC recently voted to expand.

10 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. "free" never fails to disapoint by MrLogic17 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is commonly the result of the government promising something free.
    The taxes get collected, no doubt, but the promised freebie never quite pans out.

    Keep that in mind when voting.

    1. Re:"free" never fails to disapoint by Daemonik · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Odd, you point out the government side of the problem.. but not the corporate side that takes the money, pockets it and ignores the reason they were given the money in the first place.

      So keep in mind when voting, we need more regulation and oversight of corporations that take government money folks.

    2. Re:"free" never fails to disapoint by Daemonik · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You people, you do everything you can to deflect from the corporate greed that creates these situations.

      Why did this service need to be provided by the government? Because corporations don't want to serve the public good, they only want to make as much profit as possible. They kill competition, don't deliver half what their marketing material promises, outright lie, dodge their customers and do whatever they can to force their beleaguered customers into arbitration or other avenues to limit their accountability when they're inevitably held accountable.

      The reason those regulations are so insanely complicated? Decades of corporate sharks chipping away at the laws to create new and ever more inventive ways to steal from the public.

      The solution is to force corporations to adhere to some damn ethics. Hold CEO's responsible and if corporations are people? Then how about we 'execute' a couple, just to remind the rest that they're not above the law.

  2. Re:Can you pay for my Internet Access too FCC, ple by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    [...] so everyone can have free phones, food, rent, medical care, iPads and internet access [...]

    Where I can sign up for this?

    *crickets*

    That's what I thought.

  3. Re:Well no kidding by Daemonik · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Funny, NY's free gigabit WiFi is working just fine.

  4. The real problem: Internet in US is expensive by fraxinus-tree · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Here in Eastern Europe, telecoms simply failed to recognize the potential of the Internet and did almost nothing to secure a monopoly. So EVEN THE POOREST people have Internet access. $10/month is pretty usual broadband deal in Bulgaria and you can find one as low as $5/month if you look harder. Minimal salary here is ~$240/month (for comparison).

    1. Re:The real problem: Internet in US is expensive by JBMcB · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The absolute minimum wage in most places in the US is around $1,200/month. So roughly 5x $10 / month is around $50/month for broadband, which is around what we pay. So, it's about the same, then?

      --
      My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
  5. Ongoing funding is needed by imidan · · Score: 5, Informative

    I scratch my head when I see a program like this. The business got a half million dollar grant from the public utilities commission to set up free wifi for underserved areas. But they were missing any kind of authority or leverage to install the equipment, even on city property, and wound up finding local businesses who would agree to let them set up the equipment in their buildings.

    What they apparently didn't have was any plan for maintaining the equipment and service once they installed the hardware. TFA says equipment was stolen, or disconnected, or shut down, and the business didn't even know that was the case. Seems to me that if you wanted to build such a system, one of the most basic elements would be a monitoring component that gave you some idea of the state of the equipment you'd installed.

    Of course, monitoring and maintenance require ongoing commitment of funds, which are almost never part of these types of grants. The idea, apparently, is that you're going to use the initial grant as start-up money, and before it runs out, you'll find some other source of money. But the approach that these guys took seems so wrong-headed that I don't see why anyone would give them more money.

  6. Re:Can you pay for my Internet Access too FCC, ple by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You can start here [obamaphone.com]...

    The same program that President Ronald Reagan started to help people afford a phone line?

    The FCC established the Lifeline program in 1985 to ensure that qualifying low-income consumers could afford phone service and the opportunities and security it provides. Congress supported and strengthened Lifeline in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, requiring that affordable service and advanced communications be available to low-income consumers across the country. In March of 2016, the FCC modernized Lifeline for advanced services by beginning a transition toward support of broadband service. Learn more about Lifeline modernization from this press release.

    https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/lifeline-support-affordable-communications

    Capitalists made the cell phones (and WiFi) possible, Socialists are making it a civil right.

    You need to stop watching Fox News on TV, step outside and get some fresh air. Real socialists don't exist in the United States.

  7. Re:Can you pay for my Internet Access too FCC, ple by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Crying about 'muh right wing echo chamber' doesn't disprove that obamaphones are a thing, which is what his post was about.

    The federal program got started by Ronald Reagan and updated several times by Congress since then. Why don't we call them Reagan phones instead? Will they be called Hillary phones next year?

    Why don't we admit that "Obamaphones" is a slur against a federal program that some people find useful because other people don't like the current president?