A day after San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced a citywide initiative to close the gap between San Francisco’s wireless broadband haves and have-nots by providing free or low-cost Wi-Fi access to all San Francisco residents, Intel Corp. announced a worldwide multi-corporation initiative to help communities maximize their wireless capabilities.
Cities like San Francisco and Philadelphia are battling telecom companies for control of Wi-Fi services.
The San Francisco mayor invited the public, nonprofit organizations and the private sector to make suggestions during a 45-day period as the city chooses how to proceed with its Wi-Fi mission.
In its TechConnect documentation, the city referenced several statistics about wireless broadband access. Since 2000, the United States has dropped from third to 16th among nations worldwide in per-capita broadband access, far behind many Asian and European nations. Studies show that 86 percent of U.S. households with incomes of more than $75,000 have Internet access, but the share is 38 percent for those with household incomes of less than $30,000. U.S. consumers pay 10 to 25 times more than broadband users in Japan for equivalent service.
Intel said that its Digital Communities initiative is helping 13 global pilot communities design, develop and deploy solutions to enhance government efficiency, promote economic growth, foster community satisfaction and bridge the digital divide.
The pilot communities in the United States include Cleveland; Corpus Christi, Texas; Philadelphia; and Portland, Ore. Outside the United States, pilot communities include Dusseldorf, Germany; Gyor, Hungary; Jerusalem; Magaratiba, Brazil; Monaco; Osaka, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; and Westminster, United Kingdom.
“Philadelphia is working closely with Intel on the Digital Communities initiative, which has helped advance the concept that wireless networks deliver multitudes of benefits beyond broadband access,” stated Dianah Neff, Philadelphia’s chief information officer. “We believe our wireless network will ensure efficiencies for government, business and citizens on the areas of reducing processing time by as much as two hours per day for field operations staff; lowering cost of high-speed Internet access for small and disadvantaged businesses to help them grow or create new companies; connecting parents with schools to access homework, tutorials and advanced classes, ensuring a successful future for all children; and providing computers, training and affordable connectivity to all people regardless of their economic status.” Numerous other vendors, including Tropos Networks Inc., IBM Corp. and Airpath Wireless Inc., are working with Intel on the initiative.
