Wireless would be a boon for Philly

Last winter break, I had the fortune of vacationing with my family in Venice. I rode through the Grand Canal and walked through the famed Piazza San Marco. While I was taken aback by the city, I noticed something striking. Venice had deteriorated into nothing more than a picturesque tourist stop. The city functions as nothing more than an Italian Disney World with stores that only sell overpriced glass tchotchkes. Ironically, because of the canals that once made the city the commercial center of the old world, Venetians are resigned to travel only by inefficient, lumbering boats. It's a city that is dying, refusing to move forward.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Philadelphia is a place with a similarly storied past (although with a lot less water). This history gives the city a unique charm, but it is important to build upon the past while also taking steps to improve the future. That is exactly what Mayor John Street has attempted to do with a new proposal to make Philadelphia the first completely wireless city in the United States.

The goal of this new, ambitious plan, as reported in The Daily Pennsylvanian, is to "provide free wireless Internet access to all 135 square miles of the city." It's a laudable goal, one ripe with plenty of potential benefits.

Philadelphia, for all its history, culture and perhaps most importantly, cheese steaks, is a city that could use a bit of a makeover. Shows like The Real World help explain to the rest of the country that Philadelphia is a place that offers more than just the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall (sad as that may seem). But remember that we nearly lost the show after extensive union protests caused the producers to leave, albeit briefly. Fortunately, a resolution was reached, and we now get to reap the benefits of watching Sarah ceaselessly trying to work a booty call with MJ. But I digress.

The fact remains that Philadelphia could use an image overhaul. For Penn students, it's a great place to get an education, but not to find a job after graduation. When students leave Penn for the workforce, they're less inclined to search for opportunities here, despite the fact that we reside in the nation's fifth largest metropolis. The best opportunities are found in New York and D.C. The goal of this program is to entice businesses to stay here, so the best and brightest don't need to leave. I'm not claiming that this plan will turn the City of Brotherly Love into the City That Never Sleeps overnight. That's unrealistic. But it is a step in the right direction.

Some may feel that the cost of this project is not one the city should bear. Perhaps the money would be better spent on other things, like building up underdeveloped areas or (insert cliched cause here -- fixing the schools, for example). Such objections ultimately fail to look at the big picture. These goals need not be mutually exclusive, and actually complement each other quite well.

The DP reported that this plan will have an initial $10 million investment, followed by yearly maintenance costs of $1.5 million. It's a lot of money, to be sure, but it is money well spent. Dianah Neff, the city's chief information officer, noted that "public installation of technology infrastructure would be an incentive for companies that would otherwise be reluctant to invest in developing such networks," as reported by the DP.

Ideally, a primary goal of a wireless city is to provide companies with a technological comparative advantage. Checking your e-mail in Rittenhouse is nice, but it ain't gonna pay the bills. Such an edge would save businesses the cost of setting up their own Internet networks. New companies would now be enticed to come here.

Also, entrepreneurs who wish to start small businesses in urban, underdeveloped areas would reap the benefits. The city is absorbing what would be for them a rather large start-up cost. These companies create jobs and pay taxes to the city. With more opportunities, people are less likely to flee Philadelphia to look for employment. Over time, this plan indirectly gives the city more money to spend on tackling all those other ills in Philly.

In conjunction with the construction of the new 725,000-plus square foot Cira Centre, adjacent to the 30th Street Station, this plan creates a nice little equation for success.

New infrastructure for businesses + new technology for comparative advantage = economic windfall for Philadelphia.

It would be easy for the city's rich history to be the primary driver of its economic engine. However, such a belief would be misguided, as we would be forced to watch the city deteriorate into a "Venice across the pond." Fortunately, Mayor Street chose not to take that route, but rather to build upon our past, while looking to improve the future.

Craig Cohen is a Wharton junior from Woodbury, N.Y. He Hate Me appears on Fridays.

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