If New Orleans can put together its own wireless Internet network, why haven’t more other cities done the same? The answer, it turns out, is simple: Cable operators and phone companies aren’t too keen on the idea.
Already, the companies have successfully lobbied a number of states to pass laws banning municipal networking projects. Now New Orleans officials say that the BellSouth Corporation, a regional phone-service provider, was so upset by the city’s wireless-networking plan that the company has rescinded an offer to donate one of its damaged buildings to the city’s police force. (The Washington Post)
