February 6.2008

New America Foundation, 1630 Connecticut Ave.
Washington

When EarthLink announced its decision to withdraw further investments in municipal wireless networks in November 2007, the future of Philadelphia's network, along with hundreds of municipal wireless projects, became uncertain.

Two new reports from the New America Foundation on the state of municipal wireless in Philadelphia will be released: Joshua Breitbart, author of The Philadelphia Story: Learning from a Wireless Pioneer, will discuss how Wireless Philadelphia evolved and will continue to impact the future of public and private investment in municipal networks. Dr. Jon Peha uses Pittsburgh, PA as a case study for his new economic analysis that compares four alternative models for muni wireless networks: Sustainability of Possible Models for a Wireless Metropolitan-Area Network.

Our other panelists will describe several innovative and successful community wireless networks.