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Municipal WiFi: Boon or Boondoggle?

Posted by: Tim Halbur

12 June 2008 - 12:00pm

Santa Monica, CA is succeeding where other larger cities have failed, creating a public WiFi system that actually makes money.

"It's a sunny day on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California. The popular outdoor shopping area is packed with musicians, skateboarders and shoppers, and everywhere you look, people are on their laptops.

The city offers free Internet access here. Law student Bud Jerke says that's why he came.

Bud Jerke: Yeah, I'm doing e-mailing, g-chatting with friends, instant messaging...

This was supposed to be the scene in cities like Philadelphia, San Francisco and Portland. They all teamed up with private companies to blanket their cities with Wi-Fi. The idea was to give low-income residents free access to the Internet and attract businesses. One after another, the projects failed."

Full Story: Municipal Wi-Fi isn't dead yet
Source: Marketplace, June 11, 2008
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