The city of Dayton, Ohio, has gone online with city-wide and city-sponsored free Wi-Fi. And Dayton is not the first city to do so. In Dayton, anyone within a mile square of the Dayton downtown area can connect to the Internet, completely free, through Dayton’s free Wi-Fi program. The program, which the city estimates costs a measly $5,000 per year, is paid for through advertising.

And Cleveland boasts the world’s largest free Wi-Fi area (so far) with an astounding 550 acres. (Ohio is obviously progressive when it comes to its Internet access!)

Other cities with free city-wide (or at least zone-wide) Wi-Fi access include Hermosa Beach, California, and Seattle, Washington.

But of course, free city-wide access raises some questions. Oh sure, there are the usual questions about security, such as who is responsible if someone hacks into the system - the city? Do you see that happening? And there are the ever-present questions which arise with any free Wi-Fi service, such as do you really know how secure it is, and how to avoid Wi-Fi evil twins.

But aside from those, what about poor Starbucks?…

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