Whether or not city officials should be attending this particular
conference, certainly the question of wireless and other broadband access is
one that truly deserves Saint Paul's attention. The City Council several
weeks ago passed a resolution calling for wifi in rec centers and libraries
as a first step in looking at citywide wireless options.
It is however an unfunded resolution at this point. The Administration has
not yet reacted officially.
The real issue many of us see is not whether there are new "hotspots" for
the technically savvy few with laptops, but whether this can be turned into
an opportunity to address what has become known as the "digital divide."
Much of the developed world is already passing the U.S. by in this regard.
Giving every resident and business in Saint Paul a shot at the potential
economic and social benefits of broadband might soon not be a luxury but a
necessity for a thriving community. That is at least part of the motivation
behind Minneapolis' RFP.
Hopefully this is a matter which will be getting greater attention of our
city leaders, including during the Mayor's race. There are of course many
issues, but I'd urge everyone to stay in touch with this rapidly-changing
and increasingly vital concern.
Jon Kerr
Saint Paul Broadband Access Project
>
> The City of Philadelphia will be hosting the "Wireless Internet
> Institute (W2i) Digital Cities Convention: The Frontier of Broadband
> Wireless Applications" today through May 4, 2005. You can access the
> convention site through the Philadelphia site
> <http://www.phila.gov/wireless/> .Upon checking the attending cities, I
> found neither St. Paul nor Minneapolis. There has been brave talk (or at
> least rumors) about creating city-wide broadband access. Perhaps our
> city officials ought to be sharp enough to attend to the current efforts
> of other cities, which we may be in competition with in the wired
> service-oriented future economy of the next 5 to 10 years.
> Mike Schoenberg
> MacGroveland
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