Seattle abandons community broadband
May 7, 2012, 8:15 AM | Updated: 11:36 am
Seattle has officially scrapped its ambitious plan to build a community broadband program. (AP Photo/file)
(AP Photo/file)
Did you ever wonder what happened to Seattle’s ambitious plan to take on the big cable companies by building a city-wide broadband network?
City leaders dreamed of a high-speed, fiber-optic system to attract business and make life better.
Over the past ten years, the city tested Wi-Fi in a few parks and business districts but the plan never got beyond the neighborhood level.
The Seattle Times reports that recently, when it came time for a $100,000 upgrade, the city decided to spend those precious dollars on other things.
The community wireless program is done, as of April 29.
Mayor Mike McGinn plans to sell off portions of the city’s broadband network that it spent $50 million to build.
