[1st-mile-nm] Fwd: Interesting Article on muni wi-fi

[Tom Johnson]

 I may have pointed this out earlier, but Peter is spot-on in terms of the
need to change the culture.

Here in NM, state employees are forbidden to use the internet for shopping.
A good idea, our legislatures would say.  Oh, how about the fact that state
employees can't go to office supply stores to compare the price the state is
paying for anything like office chairs or printer paper to whatever the
state contract calls for?

Oh that even though the state wants to promote agriculture -- including wine
makers and chili growers -- state employees use the I-net to view, or
connect to, things like the Wine and Chili Festival because, gasp, "That is
alcohol-related."

-tj

On Sat, Mar 22, 2008 at 11:49 PM, peter <pete at ideapete.com> wrote:

>  Agreed they are a critical part, but to get municipalities to understand
> the fact that to really use any form of digital  technology fully, you need
> to radically change the way you operate and do business, well ?? does anyone
> know of any government department that understands this and is even trying
>
> In NM the state and local government is spending a fortune on all sorts of
> different protocol and web technology but the oxymoron pops up when you see
> that the states AG is trying to make EMAIL an official method of
> communication and there are a heck of a lot of government employees who
> disagree with him
>
> ( : ( : pete
>
> Peter Baston
>
> *IDEAS*
>
> *www.ideapete.com* <http://www.ideapete.com/>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Richard Lowenberg wrote:
>
> There are a growing number of articles and studies coming out on the failures
> and downturns of evermore wifi companies and municipal/regional networking
> projects.   A lot of lessons being learned.   Wireless networks are a critical
> part of our developing networked society.   Getting the local-global social
> model and the economic model to overlay neatly is a necessary, but not an easy
> task.  Sasha Meinrath's good works and understandings deserve attention.
> rl
>
> Hopes for Wireless Cities Fade as Internet Providers Pull Out
>
> By IAN URBINA
> Published: March 22, 2008
>
> Excerpt:
>
> "He said that true municipal networks, the ones that are owned and
> operated by municipalities, were far more sustainable because they
> could take into account benefits that help cities beyond private
> profit, including property-value increases, education benefits and
> quality-of-life improvements that come with offering residents free
> wireless access.
>
> Mr. Meinrath pointed to St. Cloud, Fla., which spent $3 million two
> years ago to build a free wireless network that is used by more than
> 70 percent of the households in the city."
> ...
> In Minneapolis, the Internet service provider agreed to build the
> network as long as the city committed to becoming an "anchor tenant"
> by subscribing for a minimum number of city workers, like building
> inspectors, meter readers, police officers and firefighters.
>
> This type of plan is more viable, according to market analysts and
> city officials, because the companies paying to mount the routers and
> run the service are guaranteed a base number of subscribers to cover
> the cost of their investment.
> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/22/us/22wireless.html?pagewanted=1
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
>
>
> Richard Lowenberg
> 1st-Mile InstituteP.O. Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
> 505-989-9110;   505-603-5200 cellrl at 1st-mile.com  www.1st-mile.com
>
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-- 
==========================================
J. T. Johnson
Institute for Analytic Journalism -- Santa Fe, NM USA
www.analyticjournalism.com
505.577.6482(c) 505.473.9646(h)
http://www.jtjohnson.com tom at jtjohnson.com

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the
existing model obsolete."
-- Buckminster Fuller
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