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Make it cell city: New Orleans: Go wireless
By Eric Convey/ Perspective
Sunday, September 18, 2005

http://business.bostonherald.com/technologyNews/view.bg?articleid=103083&format=&page=1

For a city that all but dared modernity to exert itself - resting comfortably as it did with its 18th century levee system and 19th century-style political corruption - New Orleans faces an extraordinary challenge.

And it also has an extraordinary opportunity: A chance to become the most technologically advanced big city in the United States.

There's nothing like rebuilding from scratch with a blank check from the federal government.

So here are a few modest proposals for making the best of the devastating situation that Hurricane Katrina left behind.

Decide very quickly what mobile telephone standard makes the best sense for the region - GSM (the world's most widely used mobile standard) or CDMA (a different technology that spreads data widely across bandwidth).

Then go full-speed-ahead to build it out. Don't leave the decision to the mobile phone companies; they're wedded to particular technologies. Instead, convene experts to pick the best one and put government support behind it.

Then hand out mobile phones to economically challenged New Orleans residents returning to the area. Stringing phone wires should not be a priority.

(Vexing dilemma: Verizon Wireless has the best network. Cingular and others use a system that's more flexible and more popular in Europe. One way to make tourists happy is to make their tri-mode mobile phones work in the city they're visiting.)

Very, very quickly build a high-speed wireless data network such as Verizon Wireless' superb BroadBand Access.

The Gulf Coast terrain is ideal for wireless data.

Of course, folks will need computers, too. Dell's huge Texas operations are awfully close to New Orleans.

With the tens of billions of dollars it's throwing around, the federal government certainly could afford to help a bunch of people who are dealing with the biggest challenges of their lives gain access to the information to help them do it.

To the extent power stations are rebuilt, distribute them broadly.

A system based on lots of little stations is far safer from natural disaster or terrorists. Emerging technologies make building such a system far more feasible than it used to be.

Encourage the construction of solid, multi-unit housing with ready access to first-rate public transportation. Light rail might be an excellent option.

Help the local economy with federal funding for certain teachers - specifically, math and science teachers. Lots of them.

There's nothing like building a technology-fluent populace to create a long-term fix for an economically troubled region.

Of course, politicians will have to jump on board. But it should be a no-brainer.



Why should Republicans advance this?

Not only because it's the right thing to do, but also because there's a powerful message in introducing high technology and cutting-edge infrastructure to a region that is hardly on the forefront of mathematics and science education in the United States.

Put another way, Cambridge and Palo Alto, Calif., will look out for their own technology needs just fine. But there's something especially elegant about putting technology in the hands of people who might not otherwise benefit from it.

Democrats should jump on board because there's nothing more egalitarian than spreading around the tools of economic progress as broadly as possible.

And technology geeks everywhere should rejoice at the chance of visiting a beautiful, historic city that also will be an economic and technological showcase.

Think of it as Macworld on the Mississippi.