I think free public access to wireless including the necessary
continuous technological upgrades would be possible if it were
structured as free to residential consumers but at market rates to
business. Mpls is a big enough market to make it possible. There is no
reason, a far as I know, a city utility offering free service to
residents couldn't compete with other ISPs in the metro business market.
If necessary there could be levels of service, with the higher volume
users subsidizing the more infrequent users. That was the theoretical
structure of the old Bell system; they got greedy, however, and the
government regulators were never able to keep up with them on the rate
structures. Keeping track of the rate structure for a new wi-fi system
to keep it free to the masses would not be impossible, but it would
require some close scrutiny.
Dan McGuire
Ericsson
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