"The Internet should work more like a public road and less like an expensive health club"

So says Portland City Commissioner Erik Sten.

WiFi may sound like an obscure topic, although if you're reading this blog in the first place it means you're probably a serious enough Internet user for WiFi to make a difference to how you get your information and entertainment. WiFi Internet access, which lets you connect to the web with your computer, on the go, from anywhere in its coverage area--on your front porch, at the library, on a bus, or (heaven help you) at a Starbucks--is gradually covering more and more of the Portland metro area. The same is happening in other areas across the country.

(Note: If you're reading this blog, it also means you're smarter than Paris Hilton--the good news being, well, obviously, that you're smarter than Paris Hilton; the bad news being that this sets the bar unflatteringly low.)

So. How much are you paying Comcast for your Internet connection (the regular rate, not just the special rate for the first six months)?

And are these really the kind of people you want to give monopoly control over your Internet access?

From the beginning, the World Wide Web was a source of irritation to corporate America: There were all these people--millions upon millions of "web surfers" (remember when that's what they were quaintly called?) out there . . . and no one could figure out how to make a dime off of all this.

Obviously that problem has lessened. Amazon.com has its hugely successful customer rating system. Google.com has figured out they can give their products away but make a fortune selling ad space targeted to the content of the page being viewed. PayPal.com lets any of us make secure payments over the net. Wouldn't give up any of that, myself. But, from the point of view of the cable companies and telcos, the best way to make money off the Internet is to control our access to it. A fine, even commendable attitude if we're talking about access to designer coffee blends, but a serious problem if we're talking about a resource like the Internet. Willamette Week captures the quintessentially Portland angle on this:

Behind the [WiFi] experiment lies a radical notion: that the Internet is as important to Portlanders as water, power or paved streets. In other words, in the 21st century, the right to Google is as fundamental as the right to an education.

And Comcast and the other access providers--staunch free-market monopolists all--don't really appreciate that kind of talk:

The trend has prompted an intense backlash from the large telecom and cable providers that sell most broadband access in the United States. At their request, 13 states have passed laws restricting cities setting up their own networks, and several others are considering such bans.

Support wireless Internet access in Portland (yes, and Washington County).