The promise of municipal WiFi and failed policies of inclusion:
The disability divide
Issue title: Government Information Sharing and Integration:
Combining the Social and the Technical. Papers from the 9th International
Conference on Digital Government Research (d.g.o.2008)
Affiliations: [a] Center for Advanced Communications Policy (CACP),
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA | [b] Department of Communication, University of
Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA | [c] Burton Blatt Institute: Centers of Innovation on
Disability at Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
Abstract: Wireless technologies, especially those deployed by municipalities,
have been offered as one way to enhance access to society at large, including
people with disabilities and others on the wrong side of the digital divide.
One of the promises of municipal WiFi, is free or low-cost service promised in
the public interest of citizens. This paper presents research on the current
state of municipal wireless network design and policies with regard to people
with disabilities in the United States. A comparative analysis was undertaken
of a sample of 48 municipalities to ascertain the degree of accessibility to,
or sensitivity of, municipal wireless systems, and three case studies were
examined for the unforeseen effects of deploying municipal WiFi in different
locations. Secondly, the effectiveness of goals toward eradicating the
"disability divide" are analyzed to see if policies toward people with
disabilities fair well as systems are deployed, and we discuss legal
implications of municipal WiFi models. Because many people with disabilities
are already affected by disparities in education and income, further
marginalization of their communication and information access creates a greater
barrier to their access to critical information needs, and participation in a
community.
Keywords: Disability divide, compliance, municipal wireless (muni WiFi), accessibility, policy
