Philly Future - Wi-Fi Wireless Philly

Philly WiFi Forum Wednesday Night!!!

twolfson — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:03:22 +0000

Hey all: MMP and Temple have rescheduled our Public Forum on the Future of the Philly WiFi initiative for next Wednesday night. We understand that there are some serious negotiations in the works and we hope there will be a deal announced shortly. Please come next Wednesday. In the meantime, here is the basics regarding the forum: The Future of Philadelphia's Wireless Internet Initiative:A Public Forum When: Wednesday, June 18, 6:30 p.m. Where: Tuttleman Learning Center, Room 105, Corner of 13th St. and Montgomery Ave. Temple University Panelists Include: Mark Rupp, Principle, Boathouse Communications Beth McConnell, Executive Director, Media and Democracy Coalition Karl Garcia, Technical Staff, Google's Wireless network, Mountainview, Calif. Greg Goldman, CEO of Wireless Philadelphia Phuong Ninh, Philadelphia Student Union's Youth Leadership Team Bill Green City Councilman-At Large Invited, representative from the Nutter administration The Media Mobilizing Project and Temple University's School of Communications and Theater are co-hosting a public forum to discuss the future of affordable broadband Internet access in Philadelphia. Please join us in helping to shape the future of the network and ensuring that all Philadelphians-regardless of their income or education levels-have access to affordable, high-speed Internet.

Short Documentary on Philly WiFi

grausc01 — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:31:01 +0000

On June 12, 2008, Earthlink Wireless plans to disconnect their municipal WiFi service in the City of Philadelphia. For the sake of being timely, I am releasing my unfinished documentary about the joint program between Earthlink Municipal WiFi and the local non-profit, Philadelphia Wireless, forgoing further editing and technical corrections. My aspiration for this film was to represent the personal insights of a few Philadelphians and their hopes for how municipal wireless service could affect positive change in their city. Philadelphia Wireless (the local non-profit) is still searching for a new provider to manage the network, continuing their mission of bridging the digital divide by providing internet service to those who can't afford it. Please forward the link to anyone you think might be interested in this topic.
Change is in the Airwaves: A Documentary about the Philadelphia Wireless Initiative from George Rausch on Vimeo.

Uneven ground

solacetech — Wed, 07 May 2008 02:55:11 +0000

Uneven ground, originally uploaded by Solacetech.

At first sight, the green field above looks pretty flat, but upon a further look, you'll see the dip. Now if you have been here before, you'll know that there's a HUGE valley in front of the trees... So too today in Philadelphia it appears the "Digital Divide" has closed between The Suburbs and the urban areas. I don't believe it. Our High Speed internet prices will continue to rise because of the current wifi situation. Yes it still functions, but the service has NOT reached it's full potential and Earthlink customer service is abysmal...The latest news is that Earthlink will eventually leave with "Wireless Philadelphia" left to fend for itself. WIMAX in Philly is being flirted with but until these other services establish themselves, and cause competitive pricing, the technology gap will continue. What do you think? Please subscribe...

DT Rumor Mill: Major Film To Be Shot on Penn's Campus

duelingtampons — Sat, 03 May 2008 00:11:54 +0000

I just got an anonymous tip that supposedly, a major motion picture will be filming extensively on Penn's campus this summer. Click to find out which film! Sign up for the Dueling Tampons newsletter! Join the DuelingTampons Facebook Group!

Public Forum on Philly WiFi

twolfson — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:08:39 +0000

Hey all Media Mobilizing Project, Temple School of Communications and Theatre and a bunch of co-sponsors are hosting a public forum on the future of Philly WiFi on June 3rd at Temple. The forum will host a diverse panel of speakers, while including an open space for participants to speak about the future of the wireless Internet initiative Under Earthlink's management, Philadelphia's wireless network has faced both technical and customer service challenges, weakening public engagement. Now is a vital time to reignite the discussion about the wireless network as Earthlink officials have announced their intention to sell or transfer the 135-square mile network. With new ownership on the horizon, a renewed opportunity exists for Philadelphia's WiFi initiative to serve as a national model for community media. The promise of a city where everyone has the potential to be connected, opens new doors for economic, social and political participation. I hope folks as part of this online community can begin to see the possibility of a well functioning wireless network and consider engaging the process. Who knows it may even broaden the number of users on Philly Future.

WiFi Philly at City Council

Albert — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:04:54 +0000

Councilman Frank Rizzo Jr. (R, At-Large) was angry at Tuesday's municipal wifi meeting at City Hall and rightfully so. His concerns about the state of the ongoing Wireless Philadelphia project, in conjunction with EarthLink, were not being addressed and his concerns are the concerns of the people. Let me just add that the City Council room (City Hall 400), pictured above, is gorgeous. This was the first time I had attended a City Council hearing and I hope it won't be my last. I got to the meeting at 2.15p, after waiting in line downstairs for a pass, and the meeting was already underway.

While Councilman Brian O'Neill (R, 10th District [NE]) is the chair of the Technology and Information Services committee, it was Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown (D, At-Large) and Councilman Rizzo (both pictured above) who did most of the talking while I was there for 90 minutes.

O'Neill was on his cell phone for a good portion of the meeting while I was there. I thought it was odd that he sat there, two chairs away from Tasco and Rizzo talking, softly, on his cell phone. He did get up to talk more away from his seat, but still in the room.

I listened to most of the testimony of the CEO of Wireless Philadelphia, Greg Goldman, the first permanent CEO of the project. He blogged about his, then, upcoming testimony [.pdf]. I wonder if he was prepared to get grilled like he did.

Rizzo asked Goldman if he was aware of the November 17 news that EarthLink would be backing out their municipal wifi initiative (which was followed by an August 29 announcement that it would cut 900 jobs, half its workforce, and close up shop in PA). Goldman said he was aware of the statement, but that he was confident that the current contract would be fulfilled as there was a 10 year agreement in place. According to WiFi Net News, EarthLink must complete the construction of the infrastructure (currently at 75% completion with the final hole being a section between the Schuylkill to Broad St, from Diamond St to Roosevelt Blvd. and the area NW of the Blvd which I'm not sure they're planning on covering), but they are not bound to operate it. Rizzo pressed on and asked about the number of subscribers currently signed up for Wireless Philadelphia. Goldman said that he did not have exact numbers and that under the agreement, EarthLink was not bound to provide specific numbers - pretty nuts, eh? Rizzo asked how that was possible: to enter into a contract with EarthLink and have no idea as to how well the program is going through hard numbers. Goldman said that EarthLink does provide a range, which Rizzo eagerly asked for. "Several thousand" replied Goldman.

Rizzo took that number to mean around 3,000 and was shocked that EarthLink would be okay with sinking $20M worth of infrastructure into a program which had a total of 3,000 subscribers. Rizzo said that it was no wonder EarthLink was pulling up roots all over the country and said that if he was in charge of EarthLink, he'd be awfully troubled by the low numbers. Goldman noted that he did not state 3,000 as the actual number to which Rizzo angrily retorted that "several thousand" to him signifies 2,000 - 3,000 and that he was astounded that EarthLink did not bother to show up for this hearing to speak for themselves.

Rizzo continued his questioning and wondered what was going on as far as advertising the service. He said that since it's initial rollout, he had not seen any advertisements anywhere across the city. Goldman said that there was no formal agreement with EarthLink for advertising, there was no marketing plan in place. This set Rizzo over the top. He suggested that the City consider backing out of the initiative, to pull its name from the project and change the name to something like "EarthLink Wireless" and that he was extremely troubled that the CEO of Wireless Philadelphia couldn't be trusted with the exact numbers of subscribers and that there was no marketing plan whatsoever to increase membership (nuts!). He called the entire ordeal "embarrassing" and I couldn't agree more.

Councilman O'Neill asked about the capabilities of the service. This launched the part of the hearing which showed how poorly the council understood technology. It wasn't at the level of understanding that Sen. Ted Stevens (R, AK) has of the internet's tubes, but it was worrisome. Do they not have some younger staffers or somebody who simply briefed them on how things work? O'Neill asked if the network was sufficient for people to perform basic web surfing and email. Chroist. Could he not have done a little research himself? Goldman replied by saying that the network is capable of 1Mbps speeds which is faster than dial-up and the lower rung of Verizon's DSL plan, but not faster than the full Verizon DSL and Comcast cable networks. He was later corrected by one of his colleagues that the EarthLink service offered 1.5Mbps download and 1Mbps upload speeds, I'm sure nobody on the panel knew what the hell he was talking about. Rizzo chimed in and asked if the network was capable of streaming audio (doh!). Goldman replied, sheepishly, that yes it was, but not as well as Verizon or Comcast's faster plans could.

And here's another shot of Councilwoman Brown, she didn't get enough face time in this post. She asked plenty of questions too, but mainly about internal infrastructure. She was very curious about the makeup of the Board of Directors of the company. Goldman didn't know off the top of his head, but assured the panel that it was diverse in regards to backgrounds and race. Brown drilled it home by saying that a board which reflects the community it serves is more apt to understand the wants and needs of the community it serves.

The project is well short of the expectations laid out in this Inquirer story after the project was well underway in June of this year. EarthLink estimated that they'd have 5,000 subscribers by the end of July 2007 and 12,000 the end of 2007.

I picked up a copy of The Philadelphia Story, a report put together by the New America Foundation on the municipal wireless project. It's a 64 page report which I haven't read, but plan on doing so. You can download a the .pdf here.

More coverage of the meeting from the Daily News.

I took the stairs down from the NE corridor's 4th floor. It's a nice stairwell they built way back when.

CORRECTION: Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown was incorrectly identified as Councilwoman Marian Tasco. Ms. Brown was sitting behind Ms. Tasco's nameplate.

7th Annual Youth Development Conference

aysworld — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:01:09 +0000

Friday, November 9, 2007 8am-5pm PA Convention Center The time has come for us to stop talking about the problems in our neighborhoods and start acting. This year’s conference is inspired by the community activists and youth leaders who work hard to make our neighborhoods places of opportunities where people excel, ideas grow and dreams are realized. By bringing together young people ages 14-21 and adults from around the region, we will begin to create real solutions to the many challenges in our communities. Workshops and interactive sessions will empower youth to effectively address the challenges they face everyday and enhance adults’ capacity to nurture the potential of every youth. We invite everyone, both youth and adults, interested in making a positive and lasting impact in their community to “Step Up!” and “Be the Change”. **This year’s conference will feature an exciting keynote speech by Ephren W. Taylor, CEO of City Capital Corporation and the youngest African-American CEO of a publicly traded company ever!** *The conference will also feature a lunchtime comedy performance by Philadelphia’s own Keith from Up Da Block!* For more information, or to register, visit us online at www.greatsettlements.org or call Amanda at 215-925-7875.

2007 Gun Drive & City Fellowship

Philly Koinonia Ministries — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 21:21:01 +0000

What Do You Do After You Pray: The Church's Response to Gun-Violence in Philadelphia PHILADELPHIA, PA – With more than 250 murders after the first half of 2007, the city once known as the City of Brotherly Love has instead quickly become known as Kill-a-delphia, forcing many residents to live and operate in fear as a result of the gun-violence inflicting the city. On Saturday, August 25, 2007, Philly Koinonia Ministries (pronounced koy-no-NEE-yah) will organize its initial effort dealing with this problem, the "2007 Gun-drive and City Fellowship". This will be an outdoor effort beginning at 10 a.m. taking place at the Dorothy Emmanuel Recreation Center, located in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia. To effectuate a change in our culture, we must not solely rely on the power of prayer, but also take responsibility with our actions to address the stronghold embattling our city; for our actions speak louder than our words. The organization identifies fear as the stronghold that simultaneously creates gun-violence, and results from gun-violence, and therefore will focus using this effort to present an understanding of God’s love to combat the stronghold of fear dwelling in this city as a result of gun violence; for God is love (1John 4:16) and in love there is no fear (1John 4:18). In addition to the gun-drive (individuals will receive a gift card in exchange for their gun), this effort will also include an appearance by Mayoral Candidate Michael Nutter; messages given by local Pastors, such as: Bishop Keith W. Reed, Pastor Kevin M. Aiken, Pastor Chandra I. Williams, Pastor Daniel Sutton, Pastor Larry Anderson, Pastor Eric Mason, among others; performances by local choirs and other guest artists; and also a nonprofit/vendor area featuring more than 30 tables of advocates, businesses, and non-profit organizations that offer programs and services related to the focus of this effort. For more information, please visit www.PhillyKoinonia.org.

Rating the wireless service

adamg — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 19:33:35 +0000

Network World (where I work), asked its Philadelphia readers to try out the municipal wireless service today - but anybody who'd like to help build our report is certainly welcome to, via a short survey and forum. www.networkworld.com/community/philadelphia.

Tourism & Mobile Technology

iis — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 11:59:02 +0000

Temple University is launching a study that will analyze the potential for mobile devices to enhance the experience of tourists in Philadelphia, and are currently seeking 20 to 35 year old tourists who are planning to visit Philly this month (July 2007) to partake in the study. The experiment is going to study how tourists gain valuable experiences as they are traveling while analyzing the potential for mobile applications. Using mobile technology, specifically the cell phone and the various features therein, like sharing pictures, GPS mapping, and text messaging, the study will look at how these functions support the tourist experience. All participants will be given Amazon.com gift card worth $200 which can be used virtually anywhere. Email Iis P. Tussyadiah at iist@temple.edu for details! Temple University National Laboratory for Tourism and eCommerce 1700 N Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122 iist@temple.edu