October 13, 2005

City-Wide Wi-Fi for Milwaukee

A company wants to beat Philadelphia and San Francisco and bath Milwaukee in Wi-fi:

A Milwaukee firm is leading an effort to create a citywide wireless computer network, a $20 million-plus initiative that could leapfrog the city to the front of a national push to create such systems, city officials said Wednesday.

Midwest Fiber Networks would construct the system at no cost to taxpayers - a key selling point for the cash-strapped city.

The firm and its partners could even end up paying the city money to lease space in the city-owned underground conduit system.

Officials could also seek free wireless access in all parks or housing projects as part of the arrangement.

"This is an exciting proposition for the city," said Mayor Tom Barrett, who has had informal discussions with the company. He said it could lead to Milwaukee being the "first American city to become totally wireless at no cost to the taxpayers of the city."

It won't be free like Google's offering in San Fran. Midwest Fiber Networks would sell access to other companies. If they use similar technology I use in my home I wonder how effective it will be getting a signal inside buildings. Walking around outside with a notebook or wireless PDA will be no trouble. Signals from street lights into homes should be fine, but getting them into commerical and apartment buildings may be difficult. Something like Verizon Wireless' wireless broadband--with faster speeds and much lower costs--may be a better long-term solution. I'm skeptical about how much it will help Milwaukee's economic competitiveness. Always on internet access will be the norm someday. Sooner is better than later. Google thinks it's a good idea to cover a city, and those guys are a lot smarter (and richer) than me. The plan won't cost the City of Milwaukee anything with the possiblity to bringing in more competition to the broadband ISP market, so I say "let's go!" Mayor Barrett and the City Council better not mess this up.

"Wi-Fi Plan May Give City a Digital Edge"