2008 Woodie Awards
Prof talks wireless city
Mike Devine
Issue date: 2/28/07 Section: News
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Boston's initiative to "go wireless" made an appearance at Northeastern Thursday in a presentation by political science Professor Richard O'Bryant.
O'Bryant discussed the benefits and risks of having Boston provide its population with cheap, wireless Internet service.
He said the goals of the initiative, which is being pushed by Mayor Thomas Menino, are to facilitate economic development, improve city departments' efficiencies and increase civic engagement. But O'Bryant maintained that although the current plan has good ideas, it is not perfect.
The project calls for providing affordable wireless Internet to the city and its residents, which would allow people, who have never before had the opportunity, to access the information highway.
Boston's plan takes an alternative approach compared to other cities that have experimented with the idea. The city would have a nonprofit organization at the helm of the project, rather than a private company like Philadelphia's partnership with Earthlink.
"I think the nonprofit model is good, but there are still inherent risks," he said.
O'Bryant highlighted suggestions he believes could cover some of the missing pieces in the proposed structure.
He suggested the managerial responsibility for the network be distributed to community-based organizations (CBOs), including The Boston Foundation and The Greater Boston Urban Resources Partnership, strategies be developed for engaging marginalized and low-income communities and a "bottom-up" approach be taken instead of a "top-down" one.
"I think by having CBOs in charge of management, people would feel more comfortable approaching them with problems they have with service rather than calling City Hall," O'Bryant said.
O'Bryant also questioned whether people who do not already have Internet access would be inclined to start using it, and how to deal with people who are apprehensive when it comes to technology.
''The most important thing right now is getting people comfortable with technology," he said.
O'Bryant discussed the benefits and risks of having Boston provide its population with cheap, wireless Internet service.
He said the goals of the initiative, which is being pushed by Mayor Thomas Menino, are to facilitate economic development, improve city departments' efficiencies and increase civic engagement. But O'Bryant maintained that although the current plan has good ideas, it is not perfect.
The project calls for providing affordable wireless Internet to the city and its residents, which would allow people, who have never before had the opportunity, to access the information highway.
Boston's plan takes an alternative approach compared to other cities that have experimented with the idea. The city would have a nonprofit organization at the helm of the project, rather than a private company like Philadelphia's partnership with Earthlink.
"I think the nonprofit model is good, but there are still inherent risks," he said.
O'Bryant highlighted suggestions he believes could cover some of the missing pieces in the proposed structure.
He suggested the managerial responsibility for the network be distributed to community-based organizations (CBOs), including The Boston Foundation and The Greater Boston Urban Resources Partnership, strategies be developed for engaging marginalized and low-income communities and a "bottom-up" approach be taken instead of a "top-down" one.
"I think by having CBOs in charge of management, people would feel more comfortable approaching them with problems they have with service rather than calling City Hall," O'Bryant said.
O'Bryant also questioned whether people who do not already have Internet access would be inclined to start using it, and how to deal with people who are apprehensive when it comes to technology.
''The most important thing right now is getting people comfortable with technology," he said.
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