Texas

Location(s)

Corpus Christi, TX is a pioneer of wireless applications for municipal services. Planned and operational network applications include, for example, automated meter reading, in car video policing, and mobile emergency web operations. While not the original priority of the network, wireless internet services are now also available. Corpus Christi initially formed a non-profit corporation, called Corpus Christi Digital Community, in order to sell wholesale capacity to private service providers on the city-owned wireless network. Later, the city began working with Earthlink to manage the wireless network, and finally sold the network to Earthlink in March 2007. It remains an open network, meaning that Earthlink will sell wholesale access to other ISPs that want to deliver Internet service over the network. In addition, Earthlink and Corpus Christi have an ongoing relationship. The company will purchase wholesale access to the city’s backbone for $340,000 a year and the city has a $500,000 yearly commitment to buy back network services from Earthlink as an anchor tenant.

Learn More:

CC Digital Community Development Corporation
http://www.ccwifi.org/ccdcdc/

Earthlink Wi-Fi
http://www.earthlink.net/wifi/

A Perfect Match: How the Marriage of WiFi and AMR Could Transform Meter Reading. A. Perlman. Muniwireless Newsletter, p. 18-27. March 2007. www.muniwireless.com/reports/MW005.pdf

Corpus Christi, TX List of Wireless Applications
www.cctexas.com/wifiportal/wirelessapplicationssummaries.pdf

EarthLink will deliver Internet access on Corpus Christi citywide network. Esme Vos. Muniwireless. March 7, 2007.
http://www.muniwireless.com/article/articleview/5767/1/23/

Is Corpus Christi EarthLink's Model for the Future? Carol Ellison. Muniwireless. August 10, 2007.
http://www.muniwireless.com/article/articleview/6310/1/23/

EarthLink Dedicates Wi-Fi Network In Corpus Christi. W. David Gardner. InformationWeek. August 10, 2007.
http://www.informationweek.com/internet/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=2014...

Location(s)

The Austin Wireless City Project (AWCP) is a non-profit group that aims to “improve the availability and quality of public free WiFi in Austin.” The group is run by volunteers, which help local businesses set up wireless hotspots. The businesses pay for an internet connection from an ISP, but connecting the wireless node is free for users. There are also a number of AWCP hotspots at Austin public libraries. The article listed below by Fuentes-Bautista and Inagaki gives a detailed introduction not only to AWCP, but also to the other players in Austin’s wireless environment. It discusses some of the benefits and drawbacks to community hotspot models, especially in terms of their ability to help bridge the digital divide.

Learn More:

Austin Wireless
http://www.austinwirelesscity.org/

MacKinnon, Rich (2004). Austin Goes Wi-Fi Too. Government Technology. March 2, 2004. http://www.govtech.com/gt/articles/89576

Fuentes-Bautista, M., & Inagaki, N. (2006). Reconfiguring Public Internet Access in Austin, TX: Wi-Fi's Promise and Broadband Divides. Government Information Quarterly, 23(3-4), 404-434. www.utexas.edu/research/tipi/research/fuentes_inagaki_wifiaustin.pdf

Corpus Christi, TX - List of Wireless Applications
http://www.cctexas.com/wifiportal/wirelessapplicationssummaries.pdf

Corpus Christi, TX (pop. 280,000) is a pioneer of wireless applications for municipal services. This document gives short descriptions of each of the city’s wireless applications, both operational and planned. These include, for example, automated meter reading, in car video policing, and mobile emergency web operations. Use this document to gain a better understanding of the breadth of possible wireless network applications.

Evaluating Community Technology Centers (CTCs) Project (2002).

An Ideal CTC: Strategies for Community Development from Austin Community Technology Centers. LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin. http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/rhodesprp/01_02/

Consumer Federation of America – Texas Office Public Utility Council (2002). The Importance of ISPs in the Growth of the Commercial Internet: Why Reliance on Facility-Based Competition Will Not Preserve Vibrant Competition and Dynamic Innovation on the High-Speed Internet. July 1, 2002. http://www.consumerfed.org/releases2.cfm?filename=070102_broadband_relea...

Fuentes-Bautista, Martha and Nobuya Inagaki (2005). Wi-Fi’s Promise and Broadband Divides: Reconfiguring Public Internet Access in Austin, Texas. The Telecommunications Policy and Research Conference. Arlington, Virginia, September 2005. web.si.umich.edu/tprc/papers/2005/445/Fuentes_Inagaki.pdf