Press event on using municipal networks to bridge the digital divide includes letter signed by 60 parties: The New America Foundation hosted this event yesterday to highlight successes in municipal networks and to re-focus the debate on serving a larger community. The site's archive page includes the presentations given at the event. They expect to post audio later.
The event included the presentation of a letter signed by 60 organizations in favor of municipally run or licensed broadband. A VP at New America pointed out that "Speed is not as important as ubiquity." Many of the critics of municipal networks point out that they can't achieve the speeds of wired networks. And that's true; it's part of the selling point. The growth of universal availability of Internet access at low broadband speeds--say 128 to 256 Kbps up and 512 to 768 Kbps down--gives people a taste of the service. They may then upgrade to the increasingly higher speeds offered by incumbent wireline and cable providers. They're building a market.
Now it's key to note here that this press conference includes parties with an interest in promoting their networks or ideologies. These folks believe that municipal networks are a panacea for many ills. But unlike the hullaballoo a few weeks ago, none of these folks are sock puppets: we know their affiliation, funding, and motivations. Now we can have an open debate on the merits.