Verizon VP Says Municipal Networks Unnecessary
“Municipality-run broadband wireless systems are not necessary,” said Robert Griffen, vp and assoc. gen. counsel for strategic wireless projects at Verizon, during a panel discussion at the Wireless Communications Assn. (WCA) meeting Thurs. “Fierce competition will drive down the costs of broadband services,” he said.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
Dianah Neff, CIO of Philadelphia, disagreed, saying the proposed municipal networks would provide connection for underprivileged regions of the city where broadband service is unaffordable and connectivity is only 10-20%. She also emphasized that her responsibility was to the city she works for, saying, “if I get bought out five years from now, but my community is connected, I have won.” She described broadband wireless connection as an “educational tool that will promote community.” According to Neff, the Philadelphia network would need to connect only 13% of the city to be successful.
Thomas Lenard, Progress & Freedom Foundation research vp asked why, if finding success in the market is so easy, haven’t private companies been “straining at the bit to compete with Verizon?” He said taxpayers should not have to bear the risk of funding a municipally run network, essentially “forcing taxpayers to become investors.”