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9A Page 2 TELECOM IN THE NEWS Telecom Giants Reverse Course on Munici- Meffert got downtown businesses back online by pal Wi.Fi opening the city's 512kbps wireless mesh network - originally deployed to link surveillance cameras - to anyone who needed it - for free. Once an opponent of cities offering wireless Internet access to their citizens, telecommunica- tions companies have changed positions, looking to provide wireless networks for cities to compete with other Internet providers. After seeing wireless initiatives from compa- nies such as Google Inc. and EarthLink Inc., AT&T Inc. followed suit, putting in a proposal to build a wireless Internet service for Washtenaw County, in Michigan. Other big telecom providers have also pitched wireless Internet access, including a combination of Cox Communications and Time Warner Inc. to provide wireless access to cities in Arizona. To read the complete article, visit www.wsi.com, and search for "Companies That Fought Cities on Wi-Fi, Now Rush to Join In." Wi-Fi Expanding in Cities Nationwide When the city of Chaska, Minn., decided to have a broadband wireless network constructed for its citizens in 2004, little did the city know that two years later, there example would be followed by municipalities across the United States. According to Lindsay Schroth. an analyst with The Yankee Group, more than 320 U.S. munici- palities have either built or in the planning stages for a wireless network, including larges cities such as San Francisco and Minneapolis. To read the complete article, visit www.sci- tech-today. com and search for "The Prolifera- tion of City-Wide Wi-Fi." BellSouth Wants New Orleans Network Shut Down BellSouth is working to shut down, and make illegal, a wireless mesh network set up by New Orleans cia Greg Meffert after Hurricane Katrina. "The vendors, the BellSouths of this world, are not only going to force us back, making our exist- ing Wi-Fi illegal, but also they want to close a loophole for emergencies so that we would not do this again,' says Mr. Meffert. To read the complete article, visit www.redherrina.com and search for "Wi-Fi Fight Brews in Big Easy.' .............................. . . . . : THE 2006 CITY HALL: : DIRECTORY IS : : COMING SOON! : . . . . : Don't miss this opportunity to get the : . League's most useful reference tool. . . . . This comprehensive California directory . .. . . provides important contact information . : for mayors, council members and city : : department heads. The directory also : . features the League's staff directory, . . . . League partners, affiliate organizations. : and a wide variety of advertisers. : . . . . : INFORMATION YQ1l NEED, RIGHT: . AT YOUR FINGERTIPS! . . . . . . . . Purchase this publication online at . : www.cacities.ora/store or call (916) 658- : : 8257 for an order form. City officials : . price $30, non-city official price $65, . . . . plus shipping & handling. . . . . . .............................. PAGE 2 . PRIORITY FOCUS March 24, 2006 . Issue #12 Visit the League's Official Website--www.cacities.org