Earlier this week, the Chronicle‘s Alexis Grant provided the latest installment of the newspaper’s series, Bridging The Digital Divide, Downtown WiFi Bubble Style:
Cyberspace may be a freewheeling world, but most users still have to pay to surf it
That will likely be the case in Houston, even if access gets cheaper and more convenient once the city installs its proposed wireless network.
“I’m not sure we’d get a lot of interest from a multimillion-dollar investor that couldn’t get a return on their investment,” said Richard Lewis, the city’s director of information technology. “Water is not free. Why should communications be free?”
The city is gearing up to choose a vendor that would finance and build a city WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) network. As envisioned now, it would be free for city government and in several public places around the city, including parks and libraries. But most residents and businesses would pay, albeit less than they do now, to access the high-speed network.
The city is requesting proposals for a network solely in downtown, estimated to cost about $300,000, Lewis said. The provider would then have the option of extending the network to other areas of the city.
Although a single contractor would provide the network, it would connect to various Internet service providers. The city would regulate the wholesale rate ISPs paid to the network, so the providers could charge consumers about $15 per month compared with the $30 to $50 now.
Grant continues to refer to what people pay “now.” That is nonsensical, since right now there is no wifi bubble available to access across the whole of downtown, at any price. Perhaps she is referring to the cost of various wifi hotspots (although T-Mobile customers can use T-Mobile hotspots for as little at $19.99 per month, less than the $30-50 she continues to cite). Perhaps she is referring to the cost of residential broadband, in which case she is in error, since SBC Yahoo DSL is available for around $13 per month. In the next installment of Bridging The Digital Divide, Grant should really clarify those price figures she’s been throwing about in the last two installments.
Substantively, Larry Hendrick has discussed the costs of “bridging the digital divide” as Mayor White proposes in some detail, concluding:
In the referenced article, the city has stated that they intend to cap the price at the $15-20/month range and I am here to tell you that the true cost will be much higher. There is no way around it if you look at the true cost to provide this service, and not the fairy tale the city is proposing.
Hendrick’s post should be read in its entirety.
For the sake of balance, maybe Hendrick could even make an appearance in the Chron‘s next installment of Bridging the Digital Divide!
PREVIOUSLY: Bridging the digital divide, Grant/White style!.
