Tempe, home of Arizona State, began implementation of a similiar plan in 2005 -
http://www.tempe.gov/business/wifi/
Quote:
On April 21, 2005 the Tempe City Council voted to award a 5-year contract for city-wide wireless broadband services to MobilePro Corporation out of Bethesda, MD (http://www.mobileprocorp.com). The award is contingent upon the Council approval of the final lease agreement.
MobilePro has partnered with StrixSystems (http://www.strixsystems.com) and Limelight Networks (http://www.limelightnetworks.com) to build and support the wireless network.
The wireless network will cover all of Tempe and offer services to residents and visitors on an annual, monthly, daily and hourly basis. The network will allow access to multiple Internet service providers (ISP), and is robust enough to provide telephone service via Voice-over-IP (VOIP).
The network will be in an “always on” state. Any Wi-Fi enabled device can access the network “landing page” free of charge. Access to City of Tempe services (http://www.tempe.gov) and ASU services (http://www.asu.edu) will also be available from the landing page free of charge. This free access is being offered as part of the agreement with MobilePro and the City.
There will be a zone in the merchant district of downtown Tempe that offers free Internet access on a limited basis. Tempe and ASU encourage shoppers and students to enjoy the downtown area and lakeside venues while surfing the net.
The agreement between the City of Tempe and MobilePro allows for the creation of a municipal network deployed on the same infrastructure as the Public network. This second, "virtual" network will be used by municipal workers to enhance their ability to provide services in the community. Police, Fire, Water, Traffic and Development Services personnel will utilize the network to leverage mobile technology that will make the City more efficient and safer for its residents. Every Police officer, patrol car and Fire truck on the street can be equipped with a laptop computer that is Wi-Fi enabled giving them the ability to access information that has never before been available in the field due to limited bandwidth.
|
In Tempe, this was not a city subsidized project - since I was not a resident of Tempe I was not able to speak for the breadth of coverage, but around our campus ALL of the downtown hot spots/cafes/bars/bookstores all had wi fi coverage, and if you had the laptop, it was so easy to just go out and enjoy the environment and work at the same time. I had not heard any complaints from anyone about the service being unreliable or spotty.