BellSouth Corp. denied that it withdrew an offer to donate a building to house the displaced New Orleans Police Department. At the same time, the carrier also announced plans to expand its Wireless Broadband Service to Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans, and Gulfport and Biloxi, Miss.
The news comes just days after a story in The Washington Post said the company had yanked its police-station offer after New Orleans city officials announced plans to deploy a city-owned Wi-Fi network.
“Despite what has been reported, BellSouth has not rescinded its offer to transfer ownership of a BellSouth building in New Orleans East to the City of New Orleans,” the company said in a somewhat terse statement. “We are dealing directly with the mayor regarding this issue and reiterated our position with him several times last week. We will meet with the mayor when he is ready to continue the discussions.”
When asked about the potential conflict between its wireless broadband network and a city-owned Wi-Fi system, BellSouth spokeswoman Nadine Randall pointed out that the company’s wireless broadband service is more secure and reliable than free Wi-Fi. She said the network operates on licensed spectrum, which is more reliable than unlicensed spectrum and therefore offers a more permanent solution.
“Small businesses and homeowners are still rebuilding, and they are looking to BellSouth to provide the critical communications they need to get their lives in order,” said John McCullouch, president of BellSouth’s Mississippi operations. “Our wireless broadband service will provide customers with a viable and economical solution for high-speed Internet access.”
Wireless industry analyst Jeff Kagan said he believes BellSouth was more than a little surprised when New Orleans officials announced their Wi-Fi plans.
“BellSouth has invested a lot of money into rebuilding its infrastructure in New Orleans,” said Kagan. “As the company made decisions about its infrastructure and marketing, it was not aware of the city’s plans, and those plans change the marketplace dramatically for BellSouth.
“If the city knew they were going to offer Wi-Fi, they might have thought to tell BellSouth about it. The company is rushing as fast as it can to provide connectivity. The city’s Wi-Fi plan changes the economics for BellSouth.”
The company recently announced it had expanded its wireless broadband service in Athens, Ga., and Palatka, Fla. Randall said the company plans further expansions throughout its nine-state region.
New Orleans city officials did not respond to requests for comments. RCR
