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Media Tank's
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| WHY
WI-FI? |
| An
Educational Forum on Wireless in Philadelphia |
Wednesday
Nov. 17 at 7pm
Free Library of Philadelphia
Montgomery Auditorium
1901 Vine Street
Free and open to the public |
| |
| UPDATE:
Click here to find out how "Why Wi-Fi?" went! |
|
Earlier this fall the Mayor announced an ambitious plan to make
Philadelphia the country's first major city-wide internet "hotspot."
The City's business plan is in development with initial build-out
slated for summer 2005.
*
What is Wi-Fi and what's all the buzz about it?
* What are the possibilities and benefits?
* Is Wi-Fi a reasonable priority given the City's tight finances?
* Can Wi-Fi help close the "Digital Divide" (or does it just
expand access for those who already have it)?
* What is the best management model (municipal, non-profit,
corporate, or some combination)?
* How can we ensure this plan meets its highest civic purpose?
|
Come
learn more about Wi-Fi technology, how it's used, and its potential
to transform our city. Local and national tech and policy experts
explore the goals and challenges of the proposed plan, present
case studies and models, and discuss how it fits within a growing
national trend of wireless spectrum use. Followed by audience
Q&A.
Speakers Include:
- Dianah Neff, Chief Information Officer, City of Philadelphia
- Mark Cooper, Consumer Federation of America
- Harold Feld, Media Access Project
- Lorelie Narvaja, United Way of SE PA
- Antwuan Wallace, BCT Partners (New York)
- Dharma Dailey, Prometheus Radio Project
- Tan Vu, People's Emergency Center
The Mayor and private sector representatives (Verizon, T-Mobile
and Comcast) have been invited.
Presented by Media Tank. Co-sponsored by CTCNet Delaware Valley,
Free Press, Institute for the Study of Civic Values, Pennsylvania
Public Interest Research Group, Philadelphia Community Access
Coalition, Philadelphia Independent Film & Video Association,
Prometheus Radio Project, and Scribe Video Center. |
| "Why
Wi-Fi?" Forum Raises Important Issues |
Media Tank 's Nov. 17th educational forum on wireless technology
at the Free Library of Philadelphia attracted more than 125 citizens
and advocates in the city that made headlines in September 2004
when Mayor John Street announced that his administration wanted
to become the first major U.S. city to provide wireless Internet
access to all its residents at low or no cost. About 1,200 people
now regularly use the free wireless access the city provides at
LOVE Park and the cost to make all 135 square miles of Philadelphia
into a giant wireless hotspot is estimated at $10 million for installation
and $1.5 million for annual maintenance.
The forum opened with an alert about House Bill 30, pending legislation
reauthorizing Pennsylvania's telecommunications law known as Chapter
30, that had been languishing in committee for the past year and
that could now adversely impact the city's plan to proceed with
its wireless network. The event, a presentation by Media Tank (http://www.mediatank.org/wifi.html)
and other regional media groups, followed with duel panels moderated
by Ben Scott, Free Press, and Steve Rockwell, wireless network activist,
and knowledgeable policy experts and practitioners probing the question,
"Why Wi-Fi?."
The speakers, including Tom Armstrong, Business Information Group,
Mark Cooper, Consumer Federation of America, Dharma Dailey, Prometheus
Radio Project, Harold Feld, Media Access Project, Anthony Townsend,
NYC Wireless, Tan Vu, People's Emergency Center and Antwuan Wallace,
BCT Partners, affirmed the idea that community broadband networks
should be a tool of, by and for the people. A lively discussion
ensued regarding issues of access, censorship, cost, public interest
policy, security and reliability, and training.
Panelists also spoke of the social benefits of building a public
service communications infrastructure and urged citizens and communities
to get involved to help bridge the digital divide and create a movement
to support the right to have inexpensive, high-speed, wireless broadband
connections to neighborhoods, local businesses, and public institutions.
One speaker cautioned that as Philadelphia attempts to scale up
a process that has only worked in smaller areas, failure here may
make it easier to close up the possibilities in other areas.
Special thanks to Andrea Taylor for writing this summary of the
MT forum. |
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| RESOURCE
CENTERS |
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| Student
Organizing
Learn
about Media Tank's pilot student group - Students for Media
Education and Reform (SMEAR).
|
| Media
Ownership
Background, articles, and other info about the Federal Communications
Commission's media ownership review and media consolidation. |
| Media
& War
Links and downloadable resources examining the relationship
between the media, government and war-related industries. |
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