Do we need more WiFi in Lincoln Park?
February 21st, 2006Jon Van, writing in today’s Chicago Tribune, references a study that shows Chicago is already a pretty “wireless-ed” town, raising questions about the government’s plan to cover the entire city with WiFi access:
[Wireless analyst Tim] Kridel said that wireless broadband signals are fairly easy for computer users to find in the city’s most densely populated areas. In addition, the free Wi-Fi services available in Daley Plaza, Millennium Park and the city’s 79 public libraries haven’t gotten as much traffic as expected, he said. …
Kridel said that potential vendors, which would need to spend $18 million or more to erect a wireless Wi-Fi network covering the whole city, might be concerned about the abundance of wireless services operating here. A recent survey by JiWire, which operates a Wi-Fi directory, found the city has more than 500 Wi-Fi hot spots, making it No. 3 in the nation behind San Francisco and New York City.
The City is right to explore a citywide network, as a matter of public policy. Internet access should be treated like a utility, because of the broad benefits to society for education, quality of life, and employment afforded by regular broadband access in the home. But should tony Lincoln Park, for instance, be blanketed with WiFi, when most of the residents of that community, wealthy and computer-savvy, are already plugged-in to DSL or cable modem, or can tap their neighbor’s connection with their Powerbook?
It’s important to remember that for many households in Chicago, broadband is an unaffordable luxury. This creates a negative feedback loop, where the means by which to succeed in our economy remain out of reach. So the City and the eventual vendor of the citywide network should make bringing affordable broadband to communities like North Lawndale on the west side their highest priority. These are the neighborhoods of greatest need, and as the study above shows, also the areas with the largest numbers of potential new customers.
It’s also important to remember that the goal of a municipal network should be universal access, and this is more than simply providing the capacity to whip out your Treo anywhere you like and get online. What if you don’t have a Treo or a Powerbook, or a computer modern enough to access the Internet? Or have never owned a computer, or have never used one, period? There are many thousands of households and families throughout Chicago were this is the reality, and so we must do more than just bring the pipe to their door, we must provide means for them to tap it. This means a comprehensive training, support and computer-donation program that accompanies the network’s growth. It also means local, community-based information systems that tie residents together through interactive media and micro-economic entrepeneur opportunities: these are computer applications that can be built today and provided through neighborhood portals.
To be sure, Chicago is a better city for everyone, residents, workers, and tourists, when great modern resources like WiFi are available in public places. And universal service means that no one, not even Lincoln Park nor North Lawndale, should be cut off, because poor people live in Lincoln Park, too. But the advent of a citywide wireless network is an opportunity to set priorities in favor of our fellow Chicagoans left behind in the digital revolution.