WASHINGTON-A new study by the Competitive Enterprise Institute said municipal Wi-Fi wireless broadband networks may not provide all the benefits cities expect.
According to the study, “Not In The Public Interest-The Myth of Municipal Wi-Fi Networks,” cities are solely focused on the start-up costs of wireless broadband networks and ignoring the impact of private-sector competition.
“Municipalities that enter the wireless broadband market make it even harder for private firms to compete,” said CEI’s technology counsel, Braden Cox. “Instead, municipalities should focus on ways to make it easier for private companies to provide service, such as removing franchise licensing barriers and making right-of-way access available on terms that are fair, administratively efficient, nondiscriminatory and pro-competitive.”
CEI is a public-policy group that promotes free enterprise and limited government.
