Shocker: Irwin Jacobs Doesn't Like Muni-WiFi
In a statement that should surprise absolutely no one, Irwin Jacobs, founder of Qualcomm, isn’t a fan of muni-WiFi (though, he does say it shouldn’t be banned). Of course, the News.com reporter covering the story seems to never point out that there’s a business bias here. Of course Qualcomm’s founder doesn’t support muni-WiFi. Qualcomm owns much of the intellectual property behind the various 3G offerings out there — which will compete with muni-WiFi systems. While there’s nothing wrong with reporting what Jacobs had to say, wouldn’t it have at least made sense to mention the slight conflict here and how he’s anything but an impartial observer? And I say this as someone who agrees that muni-WiFi probably isn’t a very good use of tax funds — but while also noting that many muni-WiFi plans these days are being designed to work without dipping into taxpayer money.
