By Jim Welfley
June 27, 2005

Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street and Philadelphia Chief Information Officer (CIO) Dianah Neff detailed their citywide wireless network at the Mayors and Business Council Plenary Breakfast in Chicago. The initiative will create a "135 square mile hotspot" throughout the city of Philadelphia. Currently, six neighborhoods and two public areas are each serving as one square-mile pilots for the project.

Street told the mayors, business council members and city CIOs present that the decision to move forward on Wireless Philadelphia was risky but that, "We, as mayors, have to take positions about the future of our city that people only worried about the present will not understand."

The mayor described how the project stemmed from the desire to change the way technology worked for those who lived, worked and visited the city. The city government had introduced technology in ways that it had never been used in the city before, such as creating online permit and payment systems as well as creating a hot spot — an area with wireless internet access — in Love Park. Before long, it became apparent that "people's workstations are wherever they are and wherever their computers are." Street said he wants to invite businesses to Philadelphia to do business in real time anywhere in the city. Further, neighborhoods in the city were getting stronger but its residents were still unaware of the problems they will encounter if they don't improve their familiarity with the technology that is changing their world.

Finally, Street was eager to use the technology to distinguish Philadelphia from the suburbs. "This cannot be duplicated in a suburban environment. We feature a density of population and a density of employment that cannot be matched," Street said. Given this density, the mayor expects an 80 percent penetration rate for broadband access in homes and businesses throughout the city.

Neff explained that the city anticipated the 80 percent penetration rate by developing the wireless infrastructure at a fraction of the cost of wired infrastructure: $20-$100 per household versus $750-$1,500 per household. Philadelphia also will set up programs that put computers where they are needed and that train taxpayers to use them.

Neff said the penetration will address the digital divide in the city, which is an impediment to true success: "We can't be a successful city if we are leaving behind whole neighborhoods and generations of children in this knowledge economy." The network will also spur economic growth, as the low cost of telecommunications services will attract small businesses to the city. Further, the city will save an estimated $2 million per year on telecommunications, thus funneling money back into the local economy.

Wireless networks are created through partnerships with businesses who help cities understand the technologies and how they can be used. Neff cited some wireless best practices from around the country and claimed that through partnerships every neighborhood has the capability to become wireless. She encouraged the audience to explore wireless technology and the impact it could have on their city.