From the Globe and Mail:
A showdown may be looming over a free wireless Internet network that New Orleans set up to boost recovery after Hurricane Katrina pummeled the city.
Calling the network vital to the city’s economic comeback, New Orleans technology chief Greg Meffert is vowing to keep the system running as is, even if it means breaking a state law that permits its full operation only during emergencies.
He says he’s ready to go to court, if necessary.
“If you can get to the Net, you can do business,” Meffert said.
The system, established with $1-million (U.S.) in donated equipment, made its debut last fall in the wake of the hurricane disaster. It’s the first free wireless Internet network owned and run by a major city.