Local investors step in to save Philly's WiFi network

Well, it looks like Philadelphia's on-again, off-again WiFi network won't be going dark for good quite just yet, as The Philadelphia Inquirer is now reporting that a group of local investors are stepping in to keep it aloft. While complete details are a bit light at the moment, the new company is apparently at least considering going with an advertising-supported business model that'd provide free access wherever the network is available, as opposed to the $20 a month Earthlink was charging for the service. To bolster that potentially losing proposition a bit, the company will also apparently be going after institutional subscribers like hospitals and universities, who'd be offered the opportunity to extend their own secure wireless networks into the city.

[Thanks Brad L, image courtesy of Stippling]

[CraziestGadgets.com @ Jun 17th 2008 12:46PM]

hopefully this experiment works and it moves on to other cities as well.

[kjb434 @ Jun 17th 2008 12:54PM]

Hopefully the whole network is turned to a secure private network.

People need to get over free internet. It isn't a right. It's a service.

[John @ Jun 17th 2008 1:05PM]

...like clean running water is a service?

[Zak @ Jun 17th 2008 1:35PM]

Sure, it's exactly like that. Assuming you think wireless internet access is something the human body needs to survive.

[Jim Flanders @ Jun 17th 2008 1:47PM]

Trash pickup is free in Philadelphia. Why not internet?

Philly residents pay outrageously high city income tax so might as well use it to something useful.

Point is... The original plan was to create a high tech environment into the city which would be conducive to tech employers and employees which mean tax money was being used to "improve the city".

Since they already spent quite of sum of tax money, they might as well do something with the project at this point instead of tearing it down.

[TheGasMan @ Jun 17th 2008 2:12PM]

@John
Well, actually, yeah. Find me the law that states you are entitled to clean, running water.

The problem he's getting at is that tax dollars are being used to provide Internet access to people who aren't paying taxes to support it. You don't get water if you don't pay for it; why should you get Internet access?

I like the ad-supported idea myself. Everyone wins.

[happy_penguin @ Jun 17th 2008 2:43PM]

TheGasMan is right. People and their sense of entitlement, sheesh.



The little minus is up there to the right. Go ahead. :rolleyes:

[Jason @ Jun 17th 2008 3:36PM]

Yes, access to relevant, timely information IS a physiological need.

The way that need is expressed is of course situational. The internet MAY not be a basic survival need in the middle of Antarctica (I can think of at least one researcher who would vehemently disagree).

In the jungle it's more about what can and can't see/eat/catch you, and how close you are to danger. However, in an urban setting where instant information is a critical factor in competing for the ability to earn income for basic provision, esp in such a location where the basic cost of living far surpasses the median income level - internet as survival need is more than legitimate.

[John @ Jun 17th 2008 4:14PM]

@TheGasMan

When you go to jail do they take away your clean water? No. Clean water is so readily available in a developed country that it is a good as a right. In the end a "right" is a society's opinion of a minimum standard of living. It's all a matter of whether every one is wealthy enough afford it or the government plans to redistribute wealth.

I too like the ad-supported idea and agree that everyone wins.

[Corwin @ Jun 17th 2008 5:21PM]

@Jason:

You NEED to research (via a dictionary perhaps?) the difference between "need" and "want". It is NOT a necessity whatsoever. It may improve your quality of life and indeed HELP with survival, but its abscence will not directly cause your death.


@John:

No, you're right, they don't. But maybe they should.

[Jason @ Jun 17th 2008 6:35PM]

@Corwin

Shut up. I didn't say the internet IS a need. I said it can be. It's just like what YOU need before you lose control and pee your pants: Depends.

[Rocketboy @ Jun 18th 2008 11:53AM]

Yes, the Internet is totally like clean water. I mean, we didn't have any sort of society before we had clean water right?

Right?

Oh wait, no.

Free Market FTW!

[Don @ Jun 17th 2008 1:06PM]

Free WI FI ... I think Web 2.0 will have to be up and running before wifi is "free" only to be subsidized by the government under the "big brother act"
so they can tack your movements,see what you are doing,see what your are saying, and seeing what you are seeing. This will be all to protect us from "terrorists". Hmm mm... right.

[Shadyman @ Jun 17th 2008 11:52PM]

You mean Internet 2.0, don't you?

[natels @ Jun 17th 2008 1:06PM]

At least you have the benefit of troubles. Chicago has no plan whatsoever.

[natels @ Jun 17th 2008 1:07PM]

Unless you're doing something wrong you have nothing to worry about right? I could care less if they watch me play TF2 all day, they might learn a thing or two.

[Anthony @ Jun 17th 2008 1:26PM]

Believe me, there was a time when I could goof off all day playing a game but they're long gone & I do work online that does need to be secure & I don't particularly like the idea of the government having an eye on everything- they can't keep their own data secure- why would I expect them to be able to keep others'?

[Don @ Jun 17th 2008 1:10PM]

I thought clean running water was a service. Damn, so all this I have been paying a water and sewer bill for nothing. palm to forehead

[Anthony @ Jun 17th 2008 1:27PM]

$58 dollars a month for water/sewer. Makes $20 for high-speed internet look like a real bargain.

[jamalystic @ Jun 17th 2008 1:16PM]

I'm not in anyway surprised that the Philly Wifi is re-thinking it's original fail business model. There is no way municipal wifi will succeed base on that business model. We all would love to get a free wifi but it just does not work that way as aptly explained in this blog post: The Truth About Municipal Wifi Problems ( http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=526&doc_id=149441&F_src=flftwo)

[Backwards People @ Jun 17th 2008 1:24PM]

Business Model? Investors?

Apparently you can't has Internet. There's no money to be had.

Only answer is to get a job and buy access.

[americantourist @ Jun 17th 2008 1:34PM]

The possibility of using the hardware installed on our streetlights and telephone poles to extend and share our own personal and institutional wireless networks would be huge. I allow users to access my connection, and if we are able to spread those connections around, free wifi can be brought to the public, by the public!

[Zach Marshall @ Jun 17th 2008 7:28PM]

The problem with your idea is bandwidth. Suppose your connection 6MB. Now divide that up among 40 lechers. Businesses get hit harder since they pay more for slower speeds a lot of times. It's great in theory, but when others see that paying for their own connection is pointless - plan to foot the bill for 30 freeloaders.

[Travis @ Jun 17th 2008 1:32PM]

It's finally time someone steps in. Earthlink came to the city and caused chaos. Let's try and implement a pay internet service around the city, but start in the poorest neighborhoods. That makes a lot of sense when they have no computers to even connect with.
Second, the woman in charge for the city, quietly resigns and takes a job with earthlink after setting up this failed attempt at city wide wi-fi. Isn't that a coincidence after she and a few others in the city gov approve earthlinks overbudgeted and poorly executed plan.
Finally someone steps in with the right idea on how to deliver free internet access to the masses. Using marketing magic I can see this taking off . . . . .that is if the city gets its act together and steps out of the way.

After all you can't expect much from a city where the mayor waits in line for an iphone on launch day while 300+ people are getting shot a year in the streets . . . . doesn't take much to figure out where our nickname came from . . .Killadelphia

[thatkidmattt @ Jun 17th 2008 2:08PM]

It should be noted that John Street was an idiot that sat back and let the "Bothas and Sistas" handle all of the city's problems, which to them meant stealing tax payer money and maybe redirecting the small portion of it that didn't end up in their pockets towards North and West Philly. I, on the other hand, as a South Philadelphia resident saw no return on any of the taxes the city took from me - which can largely be attributed to the color of my skin. That isn't racism, that's practical reality.

Our new mayor, on the other hand, actually seems to have a plan - other then being a genuinely good man. Killings are down from this time last year (they aren't gone... they will never be), and I've actually seen Police patrol cars on the bad corners that I never used to see them on. More then that he is pushing a major drive in Police recruiting.

I've heard Philadelphia called plenty of things, but never other then one or two stupid references in the local rags have I head it called Killadelphia... most of the people that actually live in the city look at it this way - "Hey at least we aren't Camden." (And if you think Camden's murder rate is bad, they got it even worse because they are in New Jersey.)

City politics aside... Maybe some of that tax money that gets drawn out of every paycheck can finally be used for good things... rather then letting Shakah Fattah run rampant helping the "downtrodden black man".

[thatkidmattt @ Jun 17th 2008 2:57PM]

You seem to be confused... without Philadelphia (and South Philadelphia in specific) South Jersey would be even more trashier then it already is. I'd love to hear your argument for how they have kept us alive, because all I really see is people from Philadelphia bleeding their money into places like Atlantic City, Ocean City, The Wildwoods and Cape May. Which doesn't even begin to account for the people that are moving to places closer to the city because of being forced out by the previous administration.

Leave Philadelphia? Sure, been there done that. Went to school in Pittsburgh for two years and found it to be incredibly lack luster to Philadelphia. Leave my block in Philadelphia? Oh I've done that too... In fact I'm moving into my apartment in Queen's Village soon. You know Queen's Village? The one near South Street and Olde City, thats just a short commute on my bike to Center City - which always has something going on.

If by "Experience the city" you mean "Walk through North Philadelphia alone at night" no thanks, I'll choose the race card over getting jumped. And I would get jumped... whereas in South Philadelphia/Center City/Olde City you don't hear of nearly as much crime as in the other sections of the city to the North and West. Sure it's there... my bike got stolen just two weeks ago, but it is significantly less rampant and if you weren't so general biased against the city I'm sure you would take time to notice that.

What stores have the Killadelphia shirts in them then? Certainly none that I would ever shop that... and I haven't seen all too many people in South Philadelphia wearing them... but maybe I really am just blind.

As for the mayor, no I haven't actually spoken to him... and yes, I'm basing most of what I know off of what I've read in the newspaper... and yes, he is wholesale better then John Street, not that that is a hard thing to be.

Where exactly are you from in Philly, because your views seem to be, in general, at terrible odds with everyone else from Philly. Even people from the Philadelphia suburbs appreciate that Center City, University City, Olde City, and South Philadelphia have a lot to offer. We aren't New York, and we aren't Boston (which is perhaps my most favorite place in the whole world)... but we are damn nice and we are improving.

I'm not really sure what your major issue is, or why you automatically got so defensive and automatically had to act like I'm some stupid South Philadelphia brat... I'm just simply stating that we are turning around. I've been other places, and I know that Philly is not the be all end all of cities, but it is by no means the garbage that you make it out to be. According to ABC News the murder rate had been cut in half at the beginning of the year, which steadily started to balance out but still remains lower. You just seem to have a major stick up your ass, so please, go back to Cherry Hill or Voorhees or Eastbumblefuck, New Jersey if you despise Philadelphia so much... we won't miss you.

BTW: Maybe those shirts said "Da 'ILLadelphia"

[Zach @ Jun 17th 2008 7:26PM]

Now Matt, just like I commented back to Travis, I'm going to also comment back to you.

Don't insult New Jersey if you can't back your claims up... or afford to live here ;) South Philly has been in ruins for quite some time, and the revitalization effort has been too far too gone. South Street used to be thriving with cultural abundance. Now, every other store is a African hair braid store. What's left, maybe two bars and Condom Kingdom and a store which sells those stupid Killadelphia shirts? The rest is the same Italian and Irish trash that has been living there for years while those buildings you call livable begin to crumble. The only thing South Philly still has going for it, and while I certainly wouldn't call it 'yours' is the complexes.

New Jersey on the other hand has some of the top ranking education systems available. Lets see South Philly High. GreatRatings of 1/10. 13% Reading proficiency. 44% writing. and 20% Math. Your High School can't even match 1/2 of the State average! Jesus! Lets see my former High School - 9/10 and 90%. Check Vorhees, Cherry Hill, and East Bumblefuck and they're still dogging your schools. Even Woodrow Wilson (worst school in NJ) can comparably sit with your shit.

And ironic that PA just HAD to go allow gambling. Guess they were tired of AC getting all the revenue. The only reason people still travel to your shit hole part of Philly is Pat's. So don't even begin to comment North Philly (which is what happens when you racists push the poorest out) while you sit in your once-golden dump.

[thatkidmattt @ Jun 17th 2008 2:10PM]

*Looks at the taxes taken from his paycheck*

*Looks at the general city infrastructure*


Hey, I wonder what they use that money for?





At least it is sorta getting better.

[Travis Kamps @ Jun 17th 2008 2:37PM]

As a resident of the city of Philly for the past 5 years, I have heard that reference in many places. You say you live in south Philly, walk in a few stores down there, you'll see plenty of shirts with the "Killadelphia" and bullet holes. All of this right in your neighborhood. Maybe take a walk outside and really experience the city. Open your eyes and ears and let go of the damn race card already. . . No wonder there has been no improvement to this city as it is one of the most racist places I have ever been. South philadelphians love to trash other races, when most of the people who live there are stupider then your avg 3nd grader. And as for the new mayor, there is no proof he is doing anything better at this time. A good man? Have you spoke with him? . . .oh thats right, you are one of those people who judge them by what they hear and read. . . . . you must have loved the weapons of mass destruction we found in iraq then.
As for us being better then camden? That is a stretch of your imagination . . . we are right up there for murders with them, and this year has not seen a decrease at all. I don't know where you read your information but obviously its not from good sources.
As a native of New Jersey, you need to check yourself before you go bashing the state that keeps philly alive. Without New Jersey, Philadelphia, would be a nonexistent wasteland which it almost fell into about 10-15 years ago. When this city can claim something beyond the "birth of our nation" as a selling point, you can trash other places. But till that date. . . leave you block in south philly and experience what the rest of the country has to offer. Then when you come home, you will realize that philly is one of the worst major cities in our country, while taking more taxes from its residence and workforce then most others.

[Travis Kamps @ Jun 17th 2008 3:33PM]

Just to inform you and not bother feeding into your bullshit, I have lived in Olde City for the past 5 years. There have been 3 murders within three blocks of me in the past 5 months. If all your information comes from news sources you need to really expand your horizons.

Second, I have had first hand discussions with mayor Nutter, and he is no better then a used car lot salesmen. He plays the full politician roll to the T, full of shit, and always trying to talk around the subject at hand. He hasn't even been in office long enough to solve anything so there is no justification to say he is better then Street was at this point in time.

Third. I own two different Illadelph, and its not Da Illadelph, shirts . . and that is reference to the roots, and their hometown. Go visit Agent Aloha, or a number of other stores in and around center city and you will see plenty of Killadelphia shirts.

[Zach @ Jun 17th 2008 7:26PM]

Travis, first you did the reply wrong.

Second, just because it's on a t-shirt doesn't make it true. Killadelphia and Illadelphia rhymes in humorous fashion. I bet black people and funny white kids will buy it. The fact that you even admitted to owning two of said t-shirts makes your posts even more humorous.

Maybe you should actually take a step over the bridge and see Camden - a struggling city that really has no cultural center. It literally is sad to see one big project. To state that Philly is in such a dismal mishap is really a bronze thing of you to do. For a city with over a million people - a murder rate of 300 (or .002%) is really not that bad.

And way to play that hypocrite card by stating that South Philly is racist... "they are stupider then your avg 3rd grader". Which by the way, is you being stereotypical. Pot, meet kettle.

Oh and you've never spoken to Nutter, shut the hell up.

Anyways, in comment to the post - I'm happy to hear that Philly is getting free wifi reconsidered. I know that in Europe they have a program called Freehotspots.com which is an ad-supported free wireless internet. Unfortunately, in Italy where the law is worse then the Patriot act, you have to give all of your personal information to sign on.

[Don @ Jun 17th 2008 2:30PM]

If free wifi brought to us by corporate investors means having to watch a commercial every 10 or 15 minutes, they can keep it.

[BeniRose @ Jun 17th 2008 10:29PM]

I'm 100% for ad supported free wi-fi. I'm always seeing that stupid network and thinking how ridiculous the 20 dollar charge is. It will be nice to be able to get on the internet from anywhere, even if it is ad supported. Wonder if I'd be able to use it with an iPhone, then I wouldn't have to pay for data service!