TotSF: Speaking in Philly

I will be speaking tomorrow night (Wed. Nov. 17) at a community forum organized by Media Tank on the Phildelphia proposed municple wifi project and why it is cool. Not surprisingly, Comcast and other local incumbents are mobilizing to pounce upon the proposal like my cat Quantum on a lame sparrow — but with much less respect for the sanctity of life than Quantum usually shows. At least Comcast is unlikely to stuff the corpse in the vents between the walls of my house, so that when I try to sell it the inspector discovers a grave yard of bloated, dead municple infrastructure projects. Hmm… I think that analogy went on a bit too long. (Becky, please provide a link in the comments to a suitable picture of Quantum, preferably pouncing on a municiple wifi project in our computer room).

Stay tuned …

W H Y W I – F I ?

An Educational Forum on Wireless in Philadelphia

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Wednesday Nov. 17 at 7pm

Free Library of Philadelphia

Montgomery Auditorium

1901 Vine Street

Free and open to the public

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Philadelphia made headlines around the world a few months ago when Mayor Street announced his plan to make the city the country’s first major city-wide internet “hotspot.” This plan would potentially provide free internet access to city residents, and help attract new business and

tourism to the city. With an estimated cost of $10 million and build-out to begin as early as summer 2005, now’s the time to ask:

* 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)

– Anthony Townsend, NYC Wireless

– 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.

For more info: http://www.mediatank.org or 215.563.1100