Battling Over Whistler WiFi
As more and more municipalities look to provide WiFi or other fixed wireless internet access technologies themselves, there are going to be more controversies like the following one. Up at the Whistler resort, the local cable company is accusing the municipality of unfair practices by deciding to offer wireless services themselves. The cable company was already working on its own build-out of WiFi, when it found out the municipality had signed a deal with another company to build their own service (which they hadn’t asked the cable company to bid on). It’s an interesting question. More towns and cities are looking to offer their own WiFi connections to increase foot traffic or businesses, but companies are going to increasingly find that it conflicts with their own business model.
