Verizon and Philly cut deal on citywide WiFi, basically shaft rest of Pennsylvania

Yeah, it was totally shady of Verizon to use their lobbying muscle to get the Pennsylvania state legislature to pass a bill that would have scuttled Philadelphia's plans to create a giant citywide WiFi network by making it unlawful for them to charge any sort of fee for the service unless they worked with "private partners" and would give the local phone company (in this case, Verizon) right of first refusal to be that private partner, but there's some sort of good news. Governor Ed Rendell did end up signing the bill, but not until after the city and the telco cut a little side deal where Verizon agreed to automatically waive their right of first refusal. Too bad it basically shafts every other city in the state., They're no subject to the law, which starting January 1, 2006 will require them to get the permission or cooperation of the local phone company; if the telcos refuse, they have to offer a similar wireless broadband service within 14 months, otherwise the municipality is free to do what they want. Sounds like a complete mess.

[Via The Wireless Weblog]