SBC Pushes Municipal WiFi Ban in Texas

Michael Geist:

A Texas legislator has filed a massive telecommunications bill in Austin this session that, in part, bans Texas cities from participating in wireless information networks. SBC Communications said cities should be allowed to offer wireless Internet access in public places, such as parks and libraries. But a company spokesman said they should not directly compete with private enterprises by providing services to residents and businesses.

SBC is our local monopoly telco provider.

Huge Selection of New & Used CEO’s

Computer generated advertising is…. funny. Here’s a screen shot of a Google Adsense series of advertisements, including an Ebay offer: Chief Executive Officers: Huge Selection of New & Used on one of my blog entries. Maybe this is the right approach to the problem of severely overpaid CEO’s, auction them off on ebay….

Madison WiFi – SkyCable TV/AOL

Andrew Wallmeyer and Dinesh Ramde report that the City has begun negotiating with SkyCable TV of Madison for local WiFi coverage. I’ve emailed Mayor Dave and County Exec Kathleen Falk urging them to make sure that the connectivity is fully asymmetrical (full speed, BOTH directions). This is essential for knowledge workers (video conferencing, vpn, telnet, ftp and multimedia).
I hope they don’t blow it and view internet access like TV, as SBC is doing (spending big bucks from their installed base trying to shove video down everyone’s throats).