Philadelphia Goes Wi-Fi Crazy

Philadelphia has unveiled an ambitious plan to coat the city with Wi-Fi, using a mix of public and private funds to provide the service. Dianah Neff, the city’s CIO, has presented a proposal to mayor John Street that would see all of Philadelphia’s 1.6m residents receive the wireless web by late 2005 or early 2006. The city hopes to complement existing wireless services at hotels, coffee shops, businesses and homes while also opening up wireless access to some residents who might be unable to afford typical high-speed Internet costs. The city expects the initial rollout to cost $10m with annual maintenance costs coming in around $1.5m