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Community networks have been flourishing since the late 1990s, but few municipalities in the United States have attempted to build and operate city-wide, multi-use networks. In Philadelphia, however, the idea of a city-wide network has germinated for over half a decade. Beginning with a 2004 pilot project in Love Park that led to the now defunct Wireless Philadelphia network, the idea of a city-wide network has continued to interest community advocates as well as municipal officials. For Philadelphia, the federal economic stimulus funding earmarked for broadband deployment and allocated as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment act of 2009 has proven to be a catalyst for building a new network that better suites the needs of local constituencies.

Despite the stagnation of the Wireless Philadelphia network, the project's original goals of expanding municipal services, creating more efficient and transparent government services, bridging the digital divide, and expanding digital inclusion have remained key priorities for many Philadelphians. Spurred by the availability of stimulus funding for broadband, community organizers, local institutions, and the City of Philadelphia's Department of Technology Office, with the support of New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative (OTI), collaborated to create a new vision of a Philadelphia network.