NEW ORLEANS (AP) - In an attempt to boost its stalled economy, the hurricane-ravaged city of New Orleans is starting the nation's first free wireless Internet network owned and run by a major city. Mayor Ray Nagin made the announcement at a late morning news conference.
Similar projects elsewhere have been stalled by stiff opposition from telephone and cable television companies aimed at discouraging competition from public agencies.
Nagin said the system started operation Tuesday in the central Business District and the French Quarter. It is to be available throughout the city in about a year.
The system uses hardware mounted on street lights to cover the city.
Most of the equipment was donated by three companies: Intel Corp., Tropos Networks and Pronto Networks.
The system will operate at 512 kilobits per second as long as the city remains under a state of emergency.
That will be slowed once the state of emergency is over—that date has not been determined—to 128 kbps in accordance with state law, which restricts government-owned Internet service.
