Broadband, AI Guardrails, and “Wi- Fi as Basic Infrastructureˮ

Mayor Cherelle Parker is treating technology as basic infrastructure, wiring it directly into her core promise to make Philadelphia the safest, cleanest, greenest big city with real economic opportunity. One of her first marquee tech moves was renewing the cityʼs franchise agreement with Verizon, a five-year deal that trades cable rights for free broadband in 183 recreation centers and up to roughly 260 additional city buildings. For Parker, that agreement is a digital-equity compact that channels millions in franchise fees and grants back into public infrastructure.

From there, her administration pushed visibility and accountability into the cityʼs connectivity work. In 2025, the Office of Innovation and Technology launched the Philly Free Wi-Fi Finder and the Philly Free Wi-Fi Dashboard, tools that show residents where they can get free high-speed Wi-Fi today and where new Verizon-funded sites are coming online. The dashboard tracks project completion, maps Wi-Fi coverage, and overlays census data on broadband and device access so policymakers and community groups can see which neighborhoods are still underserved.

Inside City Hall, Parker is also tightening how technology decisions get made. Her administration has backed a dedicated AI task force to guide city workersʼ use of artificial intelligence, prompted by escalating use of AI tools across departments.

At the neighborhood level, Parker has been quick to tie tech investments to workforce pathways. In Kensington, she joined Dell Technologies, Comcast, and local nonprofit Hopeworks to cut the ribbon on a new AI Innovation Hub, funded by nearly $1 million from Dell. The hub gives young adults access to AI-enabled equipment, training, and social enterprise projects designed to translate into real jobs in a tech-shaped labor market.

Across these efforts, a throughline emerges: broadband in rec centers, Wi-Fi maps in residentsʼ pockets, AI guardrails for city staff, and neighborhood hubs for hands-on AI skills are all pieces of the same agenda. Cherelle Parker is not chasing “smart cityˮ branding; she is wiring connectivity, data, and responsible AI into the way Philadelphia governs itself and creates opportunity, block by block.

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