My city almost implemented universal free WiFi a couple of years ago. The project was killed by several political interests. One was the question of why we should spend several million dollars on 21^st century infrastructure, when the city needs to finance a 4th $300M stadium to supplement the 3 we recently built for our 2 major sports teams. Yes, we already have 2 fully equipped major league stadia, the older of which is 12, and the younger completed last year, but is part of a still unfinished sports park. Plus a domed practice field for the football team out on the flood plain that may only seat a few thousand.

Yet when I had to have a water line repaired, and the utilities people cam out to mark where the gas, sewer, water, cable, and phone lines were buried, they did not mark the fiber optic cable. While it is true that the cable is buried at least 6 feet down, I saw the crews put it in, so I know it is there.

This was part of the National Information Infrastructure, and the phone company lingo is “dark fiber”. After the beginning of the Bush administration, and the war in Iraq, many of the smaller phone companies were acquired by ATT as they began to reconstruct the monopoly that was once Ma Bell. For now it suits their purposes and profits to deny the existence of what essentially belongs to the public. My guess is that they will find a way to take ownership of the dark fiber by some fraudulent by legal means.

We have, in place, the basic communications bandwidth, paid for by tax dollars, but it is not being used.