Intel will help municipalities fight pro-incumbent, anti-municipal services legislation: Intel Telecommunications Group head Sean Maloney says the adversarial role between municipalities and incumbents communications providers is counterproductive, and the laws that require right of first refusal are not a good model. He doesn't like free Wi-Fi, either, though, because it undercuts that there profit motive we've heard so much about.
Maloney notes a variant on my take on the subject: I believe municipalities should focus on hiring a company to build a vendor-neutral network over which any service provider can offer their logical signal on a level playing field. Maloney wants municipalities to create a bidding process in which incumbents have just as much reason to build the infrastructure as they would on their own.
Intel needs muni-Fi in order to push mobile and fixed WiMax. An Intel spokesperson tut-tutted about lobbying, but said Intel would use its influence. Which is, ah, let's see. Well, close enough, but we'll be happy to watch King Kong fight Mothra from a distance.