NEW YORK CITY Council to Consider Broadband Accessibility via Broadband over Power Lines in March 2007 meeting !!!

City Council to Consider Broadband Accessibility
High-Speed Connection Presents Challenges, Rewards
Elizabeth Kraushar
Posted: 1/25/07

If a City Council proposal gets passed, New York City residents could receive high-speed broadband Internet access from the same electrical outlets they use to plug in their toasters.

This technology, called broadband over power lines, will be considered by the council's newly established Broadband Advisory Committee in March. The committee's stated goal is to consult with the mayor on increasing access to "Broadband connections [which] are improving the quality of life across all ages and sectors."

According to an article written by Gale Brewer, chair of the Committee on Technology in Government, and her Chief of Staff Bruce Lai and published by the Committee on Technology in Government in December 2005, "New York City cannot expect to retain its place as a leading world city if many of its residents and businesses do not have access to affordable broadband, which is quickly becoming a requirement for successfully competing in today's global information economy."

The council will be considering BPL as one of many possible options for increasing access. Other options include Wi-Fi and Wi-Max technologies that provide wireless Internet access.

Residents of Trump properties are among the few users who currently have access to BPL in New York City.

Lai said the City government has to focus on working with the private sector to figure out how to create more affordable options for making Internet access available to residents.

"One of the focuses is how does government work with the private sector to provide more options to residents," Lai said.

More on New York City for BPL: click here