Responsive Government

To help boost its stalled economy, hurricane-ravaged New Orleans is offering the nation's first free wireless Internet network owned and run by a major city.

Hey great, check it out, the city is taking a groundbreaking step toward creating a more egalitarian information distribution system in a time when those among us who rely on what few free services remain available are almost completely shut out.

The system will provide download speeds of 512 kilobits per second as long as the city remains under a state of emergency. But the bandwidth will be slowed to 128 kbps in accordance with a limit set by Louisiana's law once the city's state of emergency is lifted at an unknown future date.

Wait... what?

Phone and cable TV companies have fiercely opposed attempts at creating new taxpayer-owned utilities. The companies contend competition from government-run Internet service stymies their incentive to invest in upgrading their networks and services.

In a time when New Orleans is learning just how indifferent government can be responding to the humanitarian needs of its average citizens, here is another example demonstrating how quickly and efficiently it responds to pre-emptive lobbying from corporate interest groups. By law, city wireless networks have to suck. Brilliant.

Also, during yesterday's news conference, the mayor made one of the more remarkable rhetorical gaffes of post-Katrina times when he described the network as something that will soon "flow throughout the city". I seriously doubt anyone is interested in hearing about anything flowing through the city at this point.