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Telecom industry attacks city-run Wi-Fi

Partners in the nation’s largest city-run wireless Internet service said Tuesday that they are helping residents. But a telephone-industry official urged Congress to bar such projects, saying they compete unfairly with private companies and stifle innovation.

Setting up a government-owned network is like having "City Hall opening a chain of grocery stores or gas stations," said Douglas Boone, chief executive of Premier Communications, a phone company in Sioux City, Iowa.

"They typically require heavy taxpayer subsidization, which minimizes any net benefit to local residents," said Boone, who was speaking for the U.S. Telecom Association. "They also benefit from tax advantages and regulatory exemptions that do not apply to private firms."

By MARILYN GEEWAX
COX NEWS SERVICE

Full Story: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/259525_wifi15.html

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