Why Community Wi-Fi Plans Fizzle

Attempts to turn wireless Net access into another municipal utility like water and electricity sounded great in theory a few years ago. In practice, success has been spotty. The AP looks at why Lompoc, CA, has fewer than four hundred paying subscribers instead of the thousands for which they'd planned and budgeted:

In Lompoc's case, officials say construction was delayed about a year once they realized wireless antennas had to be packed more closely together. Then the city learned that its stucco homes have a wire mesh that blocks signals, making Internet service poor or nonexistent indoors without extra equipment.

But more importantly, just as
Lompoc committed to the network, cable and telephone companies arrived with better equipment and service, undercutting the city's offerings.