Could prove to be a great sector to get a job in, this wireless network franchising. Then again, it could prove to become over filled much like certain sectors of the tech industry. It is just hard to say.

Addison, Texas, has franchised a wireless data network (map): The town awarded Plano, Texas’s RedMoon the franchise to build and operate a wireless high-speed data network using Wi-Fi in the 4.3-square-mile town. There’s no discussion of how get the coverage of a promised 1 Mbps inside buildings, and they do sound like they want to build a T-1 competitive service, which is tricky to unlikely for a general purpose cloud-style network. They could certainly mix and match equipment.

A Texas bill that will hit the house floor on March 23 once would have made even this sort of public/private franchise agreement illegal. Arm’s length relationships wouldn’t have helped. The provision was stripped but will likely return as an amendment.