Providing reliable public transportation, maintaining serviceable roads and assuring a clean water supply should all be top priorities of a city's municipal budget. Financing an ambitious citywide Wi-Fi network should not.
Wireless Internet is now faltering across the country due to high costs, low interest and unreliable technology. In Milwaukee, where politicians spent much of the last two years promising citywide Wi-Fi, delays have arisen and only a few downtown parks are currently online.
In its attempt to beat Madison in the race for Internet supremacy, Milwaukee is still experimenting with a narrow demonstration area.""
Fortunately, Madison has yet to run into serious problems with its privately
controlled MadCityBroadband.
Nevertheless, if other cities offer any indication, private firms could soon be calling on local leaders to foot some of the bill for Wi-Fi.
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz has been an enthusiastic backer of citywide access for several years, claiming Madison needs to offer wireless capability to visiting businessmen and neighborhood
yuppies alike.
Mad City Broadband has expanded its possible utility in Madison by collaborating with city officials for the Downtown Safety Initiative. This initiative would involve Mad City Broadband by using its services to efficiently and quickly adjust the cameras that are to be placed at various locations on State Street and University Avenue.
Obviously, Mad City Broadband is becoming more of a presence in the city, whether it is for civil services or Internet access.
So far, Cieslewicz has made no monetary demands. However, if he or any other Madison official does, they will be sacrificing the well-being of the city in the interest of regional bragging rights and the convenience of downtown elites.
Students already have free campuswide Wi-Fi located in many buildings on campus, and many pay for broadband access that is price-competitive with the city's wireless network. Demand among the Madison professional sect exists, but not enough to justify public funding of a subscription service. The professionals still only represent a subset of the city's population.
Ultimately, the city's largely ignored poor community stands to lose if any taxpayer money makes its way into the coffers of MadCityBroadband. If funding for busses and rent subsidies is lacking while the city puts money into Internet access, it will truly be a shame.
As a mayor vocally committed to providing low-income housing and fighting poverty and the crime it creates, Cieslewicz is unlikely to lose sight of the more important issues
facing the city.
If one day the leaders of Mad City Broadband come to the City County Building, hat in hand, Cieslewicz should reject them flat out.
