"The deliverable is computers, software, local technical support, relevant Internet education, and a high-speed Internet account for your household. Pretty straightforward," said Greg Goldman, CEO of Wireless Philadelphia, the nonprofit managing the city's network. "And the way we're going to deliver that is through existing organizations in the community that people already know, that they are already related to, that already have related services around a technology education and other programs oriented towards helping people become economically independent."
In Minneapolis, well known local organizations will also be delivering the digital inclusion services, but the emphasis will be on traditional community technology programs like access to computers outside of the home, computer refurbishing, and training on those computers, according to Catherine Settanni, founder and executive director of the Digital Access Project and the Digital Inclusion Task Force coordinator for Wireless Minneapolis.
In contrast to Philadelphia where EarthLink is providing at least 25,000 "EarthLink Assisted" accounts at $9.95 a month and regular accounts at $21.95 a month, the Minneapolis deal does not include free or lower-cost access for low-income consumers.
"It seems to me like a marketing ploy to get new users, turning us all into a sales force to market these low-cost accounts to people, and then those people become full paying customers in the future," said Settanni. "We looked at the idea of free accounts but when we realized how much it would cost to manage a sales force, that's not a game we wanted to be in. We don't want to create another bureaucracy."
Wireless Philadelphia faces the complicated task of doling out those EarthLink Assisted accounts. To qualify for an account, a subscriber must have an income of up to 130 percent of the poverty level. In this model, a reduced-cost Internet account is another form of assistance, like food stamps. But the process of applying for food stamps can be daunting. People will go through that trouble for food, but if getting low-cost Internet is complicated, they might not bother.
Philadelphia has one-stop government service shops around the city called Employment Advancement and Retention Network (EARN) Centers. Some, like People for People and the Caring People Alliance also have computer centers and technology programs. In addition, Philadelphia is home to the innovative Solutions for Progress whose "Benefit Bank" software simplifies the process of applying for state and federal benefits online. Instead of forcing poor people to wait in another line and complete additional forms, Goldman would like to have these organizations offer EarthLink Assisted accounts as part of the benefits package they help people obtain.
In Minneapolis, community technology organizations will receive direct funding rather than added value through partnerships or fees from contracts with a central nonprofit like Wireless Philadelphia.
US Internet Wireless (USIW), the Internet and hosting provider Minneapolis chose to build its network, will donate $500,000 to the community for digital inclusion ? $200,000 at signing of the contract and $300,000 when the network launches. In addition, the company agreed to give back 5 percent of its pre-tax revenue from Minneapolis subscribers and 2 percent of its pre-tax revenue from future subscribers in surrounding municipalities as they join the network.
In Philadelphia, the potential social benefits were part of the plan for a wireless network from the beginning. City officials wanted to be involved in awarding those benefits, so they established Wireless Philadelphia as a managing entity. In contrast, Minneapolis city officials originally intended their network to be used only for public safety. They eventually warmed to the idea of digital inclusion, but even after helping community technology activists secure a community benefits agreement, City Hall did not want to be directly involved in the implementation.
This money, which could total $10 million over eight years, according to Settanni, will go to a fund controlled by a community advisory board. They will allocate grants to community technology centers, computer refurbishers and other organizations, likely focusing on those that came together to organize and advocate for digital inclusion funding. The fund will be housed by a local foundation, most likely the Minneapolis Foundation, which donated $30,000 to support efforts to obtain the community benefits agreement. [This process will pass close to all of the shared revenue from USIW to the city to the fund to the service providers.]
In Philadelphia, very little of the network revenue will directly support digital inclusion. Wireless Philadelphia will receive $2 million from EarthLink over the first 18 months of the project and expects to earn as much as $1 million a year as a percentage of EarthLink's revenue. Much of that will go to overhead, such as EarthLink's electricity bill, and repaying the $1.4 million loan from the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation that Wireless Philadelphia used for startup costs.
The overhead is a significant expense. Wireless Philadelphia is still using shared office space and has a staff of only five people ? including Goldman ? but the CEO position was advertised with a salary of $150,000 to $175,000 and the other positions have been filled with similarly qualified people.
Wireless Philadelphia's agreement to pay half of EarthLink's bill from PECO, a unit of Exelon Energy Delivery, is a complicated part of the contract that will impact the nonprofit's revenue. The payments are capped at half of Wireless Philadelphia's revenue from EarthLink, so the project is assured some revenue, but EarthLink will cover the whole bill in the first two years and Wireless Philadelphia will have three to 10 years to repay it. The goal of this arrangement was to have PECO negotiate with a social service nonprofit rather than with a for-profit corporation like EarthLink, so any stubbornness could be portrayed as keeping money from the digitally excluded residents of Philadelphia. Those negotiations are ongoing.
Goldman expects to hold benefit events, apply to foundations, solicit wealthy individuals, and use mail or e-mail campaigns to raise funds for computers, training and relevant content. He would also like to see an option for network subscribers to donate additional dollars at the click of a mouse or check of a box.
With his considerable experience in the Philadelphia nonprofit sector, Goldman said he was confident that additional funding will come from the millions of people and businesses in the region that will benefit from the project.
Settanni is doubtful. "A lot of the Philly plan seems to rely on corporate donations. I've been in this business for a number of years," she said, "and those corporate donations don't add up to much. I didn't want to link our success to that."
Settanni and Goldman said they hope to leverage the wireless revenue for additional funding.
Expanded funding to bridge the digital divide seemed unlikely just a few years ago when the Bush administration cut federal support for such projects. In 2004, the Commerce Department eliminated the Technology Opportunities Program, which supported projects from a whole range of institutions, including community organizations, police departments, and local, state and tribal governments. Funding for Community Technology Centers from the Department of Education went from $65 million in 2001 to $10 million in 2004 to zero in 2006.
While tax dollars have not started to flow again, the issue is back on the minds of politicians, according to Settanni. "I've been involved in DI [digital inclusion] initiatives since the early '90s and nothing has made it visible like Wi-Fi," she said. "It dropped off the charts when Clinton left office. Wi-Fi has it stirred up again. All of a sudden, people who had never wanted to listen to us, people at City Hall, want to talk about digital inclusion again. There's excitement again for the old-timers like myself."
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Joshua Breitbart currently serves as policy director for People's Production House in New York City and as vice president of the Ethos Group, which advises municipalities and community organizations on broadband development. He is a regular contributor to Digital Communities.
