A few years ago when San Francisco, Philadelphia, Houston and other cities jumped into Wi-Fi, officials thought paying less than $20 a month to get a high-speed Internet connection anywhere in the city would find a lot of takers. They also thought advertising could support citywide free connections.
Results on both scores have been generally disappointing. In Lompoc, Calif., which activated its $2 million Wi-Fi network almost a year ago, the city signed up fewer than 500 users out of a population of more than 40,000.
“There’s a serious dose of reality, much needed, that has come into play after all the hype last year about free, ad-driven Wi-Fi,” said Craig Settles, a wireless business strategist and consultant based in Oakland.
The most successful municipal Wi-Fi networks are those devoted to improving public safety and other city services, Settles said. Helping less-affluent residents get fast Internet access also can be a goal, he said, but it requires much more than just firing up a wireless network. Getting computers and training for the poor is a greater challenge, he said.
Hat tip to Slashdot.
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