Imagine surfing the web from anywhere in Rhode Island.

Portsmouth's own Rep. Amy Rice introduced a bill last week in the General Assembly to support the development of statewide public wireless Internet (WiFi) access. This would make RI the first state to go WiFi, and presents both a huge economic opportunity and an enormous move toward a digital commons. Take a minute to send a letter of support to the House Finance Committee.

The Rice legislation, the Electronic Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Act (ETOPIA), would create a state innovation center to survey RI infrastructure and plan strategies for implementation while coordinating public-private partnerships and administering matching funds for development.

"The ultimate goal of this legislation is to make Rhode Island the first state to utilize a complete Wi-Fi network," Rice said in a statement. "[ETOPIA] would open the door to a very promising and exciting opportunity for our state, and through this measure, I hope that Rhode Island will become a national leader in information technology."

Rhode Island's unique geographical situation (translation: we're small enough for this to work) makes it possible for us to be a first mover here. This could present an amazing competitive advantage. Let's all get behind this.

Resources
Download the bill (H6055) from the RI General Assembly site