There are a couple of technical challenges related to internet-access for
all City residents. Dyna mentioned the USPS had considered giving e-mail
to every citizen in the US, and for some reason did not. "E-mail" and
internet-access are different things. You need two things to get to the
internet:
1) Something to view the internet on
2) Some way to get to the internet from the device in #1.
Typically, #1 is a computer, though that is now any number of handheld
devices.
Typically, #2 is a dial-up via modem, though those very handheld devices
all use various forms of cellular networks for their access.
This is the "digital divide" that is mentioned many places. Not everyone
has a computer, or some way to get to the internet. Everyone with a
static roof over their heads (and even some that don't) have a postal
address.
But if you assume the access question is solved somehow, there are a few
more problems that rise up. Since revenue-related activities would be
conducted over this system, that does affect liability in a big way. I
personally do not know of any system anywhere that acutally invoices over
e-mail.
1) Liability
What if the e-mail system is down and I get assessed a late
fee? What if the e-mail system gets hacked and all that e-mail is
exposed? Who 'insures' the system?
2) Freedom of Information Act stuff
This is a publicly-run system. How does FIA affect who can view
what data where?
3) E-Mail has no guarantee-of-delivery
4) E-Mail is not protected by the same no-tamper laws that govern
interfearing with the US-Mail.
Blow up a blue mail drop-box, and you get hit with a felony
charge. Erase the e-mail server's hard-drive, the City has to prove it
lost enough money for a felony charge to stick.
5) Tracking authorized users
People move in and out all the time. How does the system track
new users, and who is authorized to use? The roomate who moved in last
week drew the 'water-bill' straw, how do they pay it? This is probably
the biggest technical challenge.
The challenges are in fact many. Probably the biggest one is tracking who
is living where, and accurate enough that no billing-cycles are
missed. Unless we somehow manage to wire every home with its own
dedicated CityUtility Terminal, this will be very hard to use as a primary
delivery mechanism.
And has been pointed out previously, mail can be delivered to "resident"
at a specific address. Think of e-mail as a PO Box; unless the new
residents know about the PO Box, it won't get checked.
Greg Riedesel
SSP
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