Villaraigosa Pledges CityWide Wi-Fi in 2 Years

villaraigosa wireless municipal los angeles

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today declared “the start of Los Angeles version 2.0,” announcing a plan to roll out what would be the largest municipal Wi-Fi network in the country.

Bidding for the project may begin as soon as this fall with a target of mid-late 2008 construction and early 2009 completion. It could cost up to $60 million to cover Los Angeles’ 470 square miles, city IT assistant general manager Mark Wolf told the Times, which, by my calculation, amounts to around $15 or so per capita (few, if any, tax dollars will likely be involved).

Municipal WiFi is a no-brainer for Los Angeles, with an economy bolstered by a tech and entertainment industry that will no doubt be gratefully attracted to such a system, while bridging the digital divide. “On a practical level, this means providing integral, high-speed solution for entertainment companies to juggle simultaneous projects in real-time at lower cost with reliable teleconferencing, for example,” said Villaraigosa.

Philadelphia’s mu-fi project appears to be going well after a slow start ($21.95/mo or $9.95 and Houston today became the largest city to sign on a carrier (Earthlink).

SF announced their wifi ambitions in 2004 and its still not certain when it will be fully operational — perhaps the way will have been paved for LA by ’09.

Read the full presser at MuniWireless. More at LAist.

Other LA metro wifi spots live and/or in development include:

* Culver City (the first in the LA metro)
* 17 wireless access points along the promenade, at city hall and by the end of May, Santa Monica Pier and the civic auditorium.
* 1 square mile +/- of wifi in Downtown Burbank (via Qwest DSL and access points aimed at a large hillside satellite)
* West Hollywood Public Wifi — along Santa Monica Blvd between Fairfax and La Brea.
* Anaheim (right now at $21.95/mo. – similar to PHilly except not sure if it has the lower-rate plans)
* Newport and Laguna Beach Harbors (up to a few miles out at sea)

Further reading:

* Ars Technica on the pros and cons of muni wifi.
* Worldchanging on the politics of municipal wireless.
* Muni Wifi notes and legislation.
*
Free Press — Community Internet.

photo by Eric Richardson via flickr.

Electric Vehicles: LAT Overlooks Little Radio

When I noticed a link to a story titled “Electric vehicles generate buzz,” on the Times‘ front page, I fully expected to read about Little Radio’s new EV shop.

In the Times article, John O’Dell boasts about a couple super-sporty (and priced between $60,000 and $120,000 electric cars coming to market and made in California. You’d think he went for a test ride and never brought the car back.

The cars sold by Little Radio are neither made in America, nor are they especially fast. However, they can be yours for under $10,000. They may not go half as fast as O’Dell’s dream Tesla Roadster, but they’re ideal for city driving. So, was it an editorial decision to only mention up-and-coming, hi-priced, sporty electric vehicles, or is the Times not yet aware that you can buy inexpensive, highly practical EV’s in town today?

From Little Radio:

In pursuit of social and environmental responsibility, Little Radio has inked an agreement for the exclusive dealership rights to sell the only new and 100% electric cars available here, in Los Angeles.

Little Radio EV will be the sole retailer in Los Angeles for all ZAP (Zero Air Pollution) cars and other vehicles distributed through Voltage Vehicles. Little Radio EV looks to deliver the newest in electric vehicles and technology from manufacturers in the US and around the world.

UPDATE: CNET has more on Tesla’s nationwide grovel for state funds.

photo by Dave Bullock via flickr

SOTU with Drinking Liberally

I caught the State of the Union address with about 75 other people in Pasadena. Drinking Liberally hosted a SOTU-bingo game and personally, I still couldn’t sit or stand still as I listened to the ridiculous presidential moments (quoting Bin Laden… Baby Einstein… Library Tower hoax…)

I did a short radio piece on it. listen