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[print version] Intel to back broadband role for cities J CNET News.com Page 1 of 2 � �E1II��Q�1 h��tp;��www,ne,�� m� Intel to back broadband role for cities By Richard Shim �#t� -�fnf:w�_cc�rn �c�ra-a�knt��t��ba�c+��a��ar.-d ��+#�r+��e� � �� 4_ 3.-5532714..}�fiml Story last modified Tue Jan 11 17:47:00 PST 2005 Chip giant Intel on Wednesday plans to provide a high-level perspective on the ongoing debate over the role of the public and private sectors in providing broadband services. In a speech at the Wreless CommunicationsAssociation in San Jose, Calif., Intel Executive Vice President Sean Maloney is expected to encourage commercial service providers and public agencies such as city governments and municipalities to work together in building out new broadband infrastructure. Intel has a keen interest in the proliferation of wireless broadband technology and industries using it; by early next year it plans to produce WMax chips for networking equipment that carriers can use to sell high-speed Internet access to consumers. WiMax is a promising wireless broadband technology allowing data to be wirelessly transmitted across several miles at transfer rates of several megabits per second. "Sole responsibility, either from government or a single carrier, of a city's wireless network is not the best solution for growing the market," said a source familiar with the chipmaker's position in wireless broadband policy. "A sharing of responsibilities is what will encourage broadband adoption, and that will be a key point in Intel's policy proposal." P,ABF�ney will outline the company's high-level policy position and will speak out against efforts to ban municipally owned networks. In recent years, phone companies and cable providers have actively lobbied local and state governments to ban public agencies and municipalitie� from building their own communications networks. The commercial providers have been successful in some regions of the country. lr� �m� instances, commercial providers will be able to build networks and offer the best �network choice to customers at affordable prices. But in other instances, such as low-income ar��s ❑r rural locations, it might make more sense for a city or some other municipality to build infrastructure. "We welcome Intel's position and strongly support collaboration between the public and private sectors," said Jim Ball�r, a principal attorney for the Baller Herbst Law Group and a leading expert on municipally owned networks. Intel's position is partly in response to strong lobbying by Verizon Communications that helped lead to the passage of a law in ��r��v��i� that prohibits cities from offering Internet access to their residents for a fee. Verizon and other incumbent phone companies had urged legislators to ban municipally owned networks to prevent other cities from following the lead of lti��s�?r'i��.�a,7�.�.�nL'�.] i��-1 iJaa_ -��3�� I� F,tri71`.'EG4�' °,�E.11fiLI,F;ini :};']?�+J+JS