OTM: Philadelphia Seeks Wireless Internet for Whole City

If all goes according to plan, the summer of 2006 will see Philadelphia launch the United States' first city entirely accessible to wireless internet. The service will blanket Philadelphia's 135 miles, so that any Philadelphian will be able to get on line, and with the costs subsidized, the mayor says every citizen will be able to afford it. The city first decided to take on the project when it found internet providers ignoring low income neighborhoods, and those same internet providers have tried to block the plan, by legally challenging the city's right to make wireless internet access just another public utility. Dianah Neff is the chief information officer for the City of Philadelphia.