Wireless Philadelphia

[[wikify}} Philadelphia being among the least connected cities is all AbOUT to change as they are becoming the most connected city in the nation. The plan is to have wireless internet available in all 135 square miles of Philadelphia. The name of this plan is Digital Inclusion. Philadelphia has EarthLink as the internet service provider and the company to do all of the work. The work will cost in total about 7 to 10 million for the city to install all necessary wiring. EarthLink is creating a new system for the Philadelphia to cover more of an area. Instead of a regular hotspot EarthLink is forming a mesh of signals which will blanket the city creating a hotspot significantly larger than normal. The cost for a citizen to access the network will be between 10 to 20 dollars per household. Discounts will be available for lower income residents. In most parks and public areas the wireless internet will be able to be accessed for free by anyone. The outcome hoped to come out this plan is for more people through out the city to be connected. If everyone is connected more jobs can found online, more children can benefit from the education on the internet, and the city government can inform citizens of recent issues faster than before. The plan was announced in October 2005 and is planned to be 100% complete by the end of 2007.

References

Philadelphia Wifi. EarthLink Municipal networks, Feather. 16 November 2007. http://philadelphia.wifi.com/ About Wireless Philadelphia. 2006-2007. EarthLink Wifi, Channel 6 News. 16 November 2007. <http://www.wirelessphiladelphia.org/about_wireless.cfm>