Municipal Wireless Internet

As of mid-2005, 68 percent of American adults—about 137 million people—used the Internet, while the remaining 65 million people did not. Older, less educated, and minority Americans disproportionately lack Internet access. Twenty-six percent of people aged 65 and older go online, compared to 67 percent of those aged 50 to 64, 80 percent of those aged 30 to 49, and 84 percent of those aged 19 to 29. Twenty-nine percent of Americans who have never graduated from high school have Internet access, compared to 89 percent of college graduates. And 57 percent of African Americans go online, compared to 70 percent of whites.1

Fifty-three percent of home Internet users had high-speed connections in 2005, up from 21 percent in 2002. It is no surprise that the youngest, most educated and most affluent Americans are most likely to have broadband connections. College graduates are twice as likely to have high-speed Internet access as high school graduates; households that earn $75,000 or more are twice as likely to have broadband connections as households that earn $30,000 or less.2

On a typical day in 2004, 70 million Americans went online. Fifty-eight million used the Internet for email, 35 million looked at news stories, and 25 million checked the weather. In a single day, 24 million Americans went online to do research for their jobs and 14 million more to do research for school. Nineteen million Americans researched a product online, and four million bought one.3 There was about $172 billion in online retail sales in the U.S. in 2005, and that is projected to increase to $329 billion by 2010.4 Clearly, both individuals and businesses without broadband Internet access are at a great disadvantage in today’s society and economy.

The Internet has become a standard medium for everyday communication and transactions, but many Americans can’t get, or can’t reasonably afford, access. Municipal wireless Internet easily solves that problem. For example, Scottsburg, Indiana—population 6,000—was in danger of losing at least two large employers due to its lack of broadband Internet infrastructure. When private companies refused to provide broadband services to the town, the public electric utility set up a town-wide wireless network that not only helped to retain the businesses and jobs, but made the city’s schools, law enforcement agencies, health care providers, and individuals more effective and competitive.5 Across the country, municipal Wi-Fi networks offer free or substantially discounted access to lower-income residents, and in many cases, to everyone.

Even large municipalities with existing broadband services can benefit by creating their own Wi-Fi system. Beginning in 2004, Philadelphia undertook an effort to provide broadband service to all city residents, reasoning that it would not only provide discount service to lower-income households, but would spur economic development, attract tourists, and save money for city agencies. Municipal Wi-Fi also enables police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians to obtain crucial information immediately from computers in their vehicles.

There are 38 municipal wireless Internet networks in 23 states (AZ, CA, DE, FL, GA, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, NM, NY, OH, OK, TX, VT, WA, WI) and the District of Columbia. At least 34 more are planned.6 However, many of these are in small towns—there is almost infinite capacity for growth in municipal Wi-Fi.

In more than a dozen states, large telecommunications companies have lobbied state legislators against municipal Wi-Fi because they don’t want the competition. It’s as if Borders and Barnes & Noble asked legislators to ban municipal libraries because they cut into the bookstore business.7 In the 21st century, broadband access is essential to both economic growth and education—it is becoming a public utility. Unfortunately, corporate interests have succeeded in enacting a variety of limits on municipal broadband service in 16 states (AR, CO, FL, LA, MO, MN, NE, NV, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI). The Colorado and Louisiana restrictions were enacted in 2005.

Modeled after legislation in West Virginia, ETOPIA would