Telecoms Winning the WiFi War (washingtonpost.com) This article in the WP discusses how the Pennsylvania legislature is passing a bill that will prevent local municipalities from setting up Wi-fi networks and providing free or low-cost internet access to its citizens, in competition with the local Telco. If the muni wants to do this it needs to talk to the LEC (usually Verizon in PA). If the LEC can’t commit to delivering a local Wi-fi network in 14 months then the muni can deploy their own. Philadelphia has already got permission from Verizon to go ahead with its Wi-fi network that has been i the plannig stages for awhile. (evidently this is what sparked the legislation in the first place. )

So why wouldn’t every muni in PA immediately go to the LEC and make the request RIGHT NOW? Verizon hasn’t bothered to widely deploy broadband services for several years. Why should they start now. And then, in 14 months, the Muni’s that don’t have a Wi-fi network can build their own if they have the interest then, or the money. Just because they start the clock ticking now doesn’t mean they have to build anything in 14 months, but at least they have the option.