Verizon OKs Philadelphia Wi-Fi project

Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell on Tuesday signed into law HB 30, a controversial broadband bill, after receiving a last-minute assurance that Verizon Communications would not challenge a plan by the municipality of Philadelphia to provide Wi-Fi services throughout the city.

Under the new law, Verizon is required to provide broadband services--with download speeds of at least 1.5 Mbps--throughout its Pennsylvania service territory by 2015. In return, Verizon and other incumbent carriers effectively are given the right to veto government initiatives to offer services comparable to those planned by the ILEC.

Rendell was concerned this clause could jeopardize the Philadelphia Wi-Fi plan announced in September. Verizon officials said the stipulation would not apply if Philadelphia had at least one Wi-Fi customer by Jan. 1, 2006--the effective date of this portion of the legislation, according to Verizon spokeswoman Sharon Shaffer.

After Philadelphia officials continued to voice concerns, Verizon committed in writing that it would not contest the Wi-Fi network, Shaffer said.

Meanwhile, critics said the new law would hurt consumers by limiting choice.

"[HB 30] will put Verizon in a position of ultimate power to determine both the pricing and availability of future telecommunications services in the Commonwealth," according to a Pennsylvania Carriers’ Coalition press release.

Jim Baller, an attorney who has been at the forefront of the municipal-owned broadband movement, said it is "unclear" how the new law will be applied to municipalities other than Philadelphia wanting to offer fiber-to-the premises or wireless-broadband alternatives.

However, Baller noted that HB 30 calls for Verizon to provide all citizens in the state with a broadband solution with minimum download speeds of 1.5 Mbps. A 1994 broadband law called for Bell Atlantic--Verizon’s predecessor--to supply 45 Mbps symmetrically to all customers in its service area by 2015, he said.

"Pennsylvanians got a deal that is significantly worse than it got in 1994," Baller said.