Chicago wants to become a broadband powerhouse, according to a...
Chicago wants to become a broadband powerhouse, according to a new government initiative and inquiry begun this week. The city is asking for input by Oct. 19 in a new request for information (http://xrl.us/bnrhp3). Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s request outlines an…
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ambitious plan, with three major goals. Chicago wants to create an open-access fiber network with transmission speeds of at least a gigabit “in targeted commercial and industrial corridors to foster innovation,” the document said. It said the program will sell “free or heavily discounted” multi-megabit Internet to the poor and underserved over wired or wireless networks and create free wireless throughout Chicago’s parks and public spaces. The request seeks ideas and recommendations about how to make this broadband vision possible. There’s a list of relevant public spaces, parks and “innovation zones” within the request. The city’s agencies spend about $30 million annually on broadband, which would be leveraged and focused to achieve the new aims, the request said. Emanuel calls the initiative the Chicago Broadband Challenge.