Philly muni-WiFi network to charge $20/month

Philadelphia's muni-WiFi strategy seems to have taken a change of course and entered into a higher price bracket than previously estimated: $20 a month. When the city's plans first came out back in September 2004, the city's CIO described a scene where a resident could walk outside onto his front porch and access the Internet "at no charge." Since then pricing has been murkily discussed, but this is the first time a clear scheme was announced. "Qualifying" low-income families will have access to the service for $10 a month. As we've said in the past, there are few, if any, successful muni-WiFi deployments out there, but prices at $20 a month seem closer to reality. As some customers balk, other ISPs should feel smug.

For more on Philly's muni-WiFi plans:
- see this blog entry from Techdirt.com