Understanding the Complexity of Universal Access: A study of Philadelphia Wireless Initiative

The Philadelphia wireless initiative is a unique program undertaken by the City to promote cheap broad band access, and eliminate the digital divide problems. To assess the general mood as well the requirements of the public with regards to this initiative, the city authorities, in conjunction with the research team from Temple University conducted extensive focus group studies and surveys. As a research assistant, my role was to collect data spread over disparate sources such as print and digital media, focus group studies and various governmental reports and communiqués. Subsequently, I scientifically analyzed this huge pool of qualitative data to develop a coherent framework for universal access that can act as a guiding model for efforts in municipal wireless networks. A research paper based on this research project was presented at the International Conference in Information Systems, Paris (2008) and under review at the Information Systems Research Journal