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Wilkes-Barre mayor says the Internet access will make city marketable to businesses.
By JON FOX [email protected]
WILKES-BARRE – Philadelphia’s getting all of the attention, but Mayor Tom Leighton wants to beat it to the wireless punch.
Philly began pushing to become the first wireless major city offering residents low-cost Wi-Fi Internet access in spring 2004, and in April, Mayor John Street laid out details of the city’s Wireless Philadelphia business plan. The city just selected an internet provider and expects the network covering its 135 square miles to be completed in about a year.
Leighton, who presented his own plan at Thursday’s city council meeting, hopes to have a wireless Internet network operational by Dec. 31.
Leighton said the planned “state-of-the-art” Internet access will make the city more marketable to businesses and will put it “on the map.”
“We do not want to be the followers. We want to be the leaders. We are way ahead of other cities trying to implement this system.”
The city’s business plan was closely modeled on Philadelphia’s initiative, said city Administrator J.J. Murphy.
The city might create a nonprofit corporation, “Wire Free Wilkes-Barre,” to guide the project much as Philadelphia has done, according to the plan.
Murphy hopes companies will respond and finance the construction of the network across Wilkes-Barre’s seven square miles and that the city’s costs will be minimal.
The company with the most attractive proposal will create the network and then offer residents equipped with wireless-enabled computers or handheld devices low-cost access to the Web.
Philadelphia plans to sell services for less than $20 a month and even less for low-income residents.
Wilkes-Barre’s plan calls for 95 percent outdoor coverage and 90 percent indoor coverage with free access in certain public places. Murphy said residents with laptops can already link to the Web for free in Public Square and Kirby Park.
Once the network is constructed the “Wire Free Wilkes-Barre” will receive a fee from the service provider for each resident who subscribes.
The Wi-Fi coverage could also provide for enhanced wireless capabilities for police on patrol, wireless cameras and possibly wireless monitoring of the city’s parking meters, according to the plan.
“I don’t think people realize how important it is to the development of the city to have this,” said Councilman Bill Barrett.
The aggressive timeline is in part due to a state law signed by Gov. Ed Rendell in November, Murphy said.
After Street announced Philadelphia’s plans in 2004, local Internet providers objected to what they called unfair municipal competition.
The state responded with a law requiring governments to offer local providers the chance to build their own Wi-Fi networks before municipal plans are developed.
That requirement is avoided if a network is in place before the end of the year, Murphy said.