Right off the bat, public Wi-Fi being offered for free would be great. That is until the city gets the bill, that is. One possible solution is to combine a public/private endeavor to help offset the huge public costs involved with setting up a citywide Wi-Fi network.

I think having private funding would help tremendously. However, once that check from the private source has been cashed, you know that any hidden clauses or contracts will quickly surface. Perhaps cities could sell ad space on a special browser needed to access the free wireless Internet?

Kevin Werbach discusses his expectations for municipal Wi-Fi: He envisions cities contributing their physical infrastructure such as light poles as well as funding to support coverage in areas where the private companies might not get a return on their investments. Private companies would do the rest. It sounds like Werbach is suggesting that the municipal network wouldn’t be free but would be cheaper than alternative access methods. The networks would also be used by city workers to do their jobs.