LATimes Ed) Making connections (save taxes by using Philadelphia approach)

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-wifi23nov23,0,3815210.story?track=tottext

EDITORIAL
Making connections

November 23, 2005

A HIGH-SPEED INTERNET CONNECTION for every computer may be the 21st century equivalent of "a chicken in every pot." It's a utopian-sounding promise that local officials are making across the country, with projects underway in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Anaheim and Long Beach, among other cities.<snip>

Nevertheless, there are plenty of reasons for local governments not to do the job themselves. In addition to facing the nontrivial expense and risk of operating and maintaining a network, a city would be putting itself in direct competition with the privately owned telephone and cable TV companies that offer Internet access. That's not likely to be a fair fight. There's also a minefield of problems involving privacy, security and pirated or inappropriate material online.

Philadelphia is taking a different approach. It is negotiating a deal with Internet service provider Earthlink to make affordable wireless Internet access available throughout the city on a network built and owned by Earthlink. The company would assume all the risk, and some of the proceeds would be used to offer subsidized Internet access and computers to low-income residents.

Mountain View, Calif., meanwhile, struck a different kind of deal. It has an agreement with Google that will make wireless Internet access available for free throughout the Silicon Valley suburb, with no city funds involved.<snip>

If you give it to someone like Earthlink, it will not do what it is designed to do.

This is propaganda.

This is corporatist and insidious.

Keep citywide internet service out of the hands of corporations. Believe me, you'll regret it.

Sue

a connection - there is no propganda as far as I can see.