Could Muni Fiber KO Muni Wi-Fi?
By Andrew Orlowski (andrew.orlowski@theregister.co.uk) Published Monday 31st July 2006 20:17 GMT http://www.theregister.com/2006/07/31/muni_fiber_vs_muni_wifi/ Berkeley city council in California has become the latest city to examine municipal ownership of “the last mile”, a move which could deal the latest blow to the stalling Municipal Wi-Fi movement. Palo Alto in the heart of Silicon Valley voted to investigate a fiber to the home (FTTH) scheme a few days earlier. Berkeley had looked set to rubber stamp the Wi-Fi option, but voted 5:1 instead for a feasibility plan which would see the city partner with a private contractor for fiber. “A successful economic model for running municipal Wi-Fi networks has yet to emerge,” notes from the city’s director of IT, Chris Mead, acknowledge. The city also noted that while subscription models for Wi-Fi have been a flop, advertising-based revenue “cannot be taken for granted”, either. “It may be that municipal Wi-Fi is a passing fad that will be
