Upper Dublin, Penn., claims southeastern bragging rights for first citywide Wi-Fi network: The city snuck under the wire last year to start its network to avoid having to ask Verizon for permission. (Sorry, notify Verizon and have them agree to build a network within some period of time or decline.) The service will cost just $12 per month and deliver 3 Mbps (downstream, one would wager) with higher-speeds available. The suburban Phila. city covered 13 square miles for $150,000 so far, which seems a bit low. The article notes a little irony: Verizon wanted the law passed to prevent competition by municipalities in areas they serve, but municipalities may decide on Verizon's ability to offer television over fiber--exactly the sort of situation that anti-municipal broadband forces have pointed to as a conflict of interest where cities act as regulators on one hand while competing on the other. This is the first overt mention of this that I've seen, however.
Bethlehem, Penn., has a South Side network mostly built: The Wi-Fi network is in the Keystone Innovation Zone, an area that's been targeted to try to keep local technology businesses from moving away. The project has scant details because it's being finished up and no one seems to want to comment. The zone covers four square miles, most of the South Side.