Re: [PLUG] "geek-net" (was: FYI - FIOS/DCAnet)

["William H. Magill" <magill@mcgillsociety.org>]

On 25 Aug, 2005, at 09:41, Bob Leming intoned:
> Could this have real applicability in the Digital Divide issue? A  
> way to
> provide viable, affordable access within the home to a city block  
> e.g.?

Yes, but not really.

> Is this a way that a Community Technology Center could expand its  
> work to
> provide home access in the surrounding community? Perhaps only  
> after the
> hours that the Center was active?

The basic problem is connectivity to the outside world; Who is going  
to fund it.

While it would be relatively easy to provide connectivity BETWEEN the  
users of such a network, the issue becomes -- Who is going to pay for  
the connection OFF "geek-net" to the Internet on an on-going basis.

This is actually one of the biggest issue for the City's Wireless  
Philadelphia game.

Virtually no Community Technology Center has the money to pay for  
their Internet Connection. They all depend upon some "gift" from  
somebody -- City, Fed, Wm Penn Foundation, etc. -- to pay for that  
connection. And most all such "gifts" (or grants) are one-time only  
deals ... they do not pay for "ongoing operations."

There are all kinds of funding proposals around to provide for the  
initial Capital Equipment Costs, but nobody is willing to address the  
Operational Costs.  And it is always easy to get funding for the  
"pilots," but nobody is willing to pay for the expansion of the  
program beyond the Pilots.

The City's proposed Wireless network is "sort of" a pay-as-you-go  
network. While the end user pays a fee to use it, somebody has to pay  
for the "T" lines (or whatever) that will connect that mesh to the  
Internet at large. Which is to say, there is a Capital Investment  
needed (on a monthly basis) to provide the basic connectivity.

This issue has come up multiple times in the City's meetings -- It's  
the first thing that the various "Community Technology Centers" ask  
-- Where can we get the money to pay for this?


T.T.F.N.
William H. Magill
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magill@mcgillsociety.org
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whmagill@gmail.com


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