Why Municipal Wi-Fi Projects Fail

"The basic idea of offering Internet access as a public service is sound. The problem is that cities haven't thought of the Internet as a form of public infrastructure that—like subway lines, sewers, or roads—must be paid for. Instead, cities have labored under the illusion that, somehow, everything could be built easily and for free by private parties. That illusion has run straight into the ancient economics of infrastructure and natural monopoly. The bottom line: City dwellers won't be able to get high-quality wireless Internet access for free. If they want it, collectively, they'll have to pay for it."

"[Cities gave a] private company the right to build a wireless network and try to make money off of it...The cities then washed their hands of the issue of success or failure....Today, the limited success stories come from towns that have actually treated Wi-Fi as a public calling [and a] public service: something that's free, or near-free, like the local swimming pool. Most cities have been too busy dreaming of free pipes to notice that their approach is hopelessly flawed."