Mike Rogoway of the Oregonian reports:
The Portland City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to proceed with a Wi-Fi network intended to provide free Web access in "95 percent" of the city.
The pioneering network will be built by a Silicon Valley startup called MetroFi Inc., which will fund the project itself and operate the system. MetroFi hopes to make money on the deal by selling wireless services to the city and through 1-inch ads that appear when Web surfers access the network.
Network construction will cost under $10 million, according to MetroFi, and starts today. The company will begin by unwiring a small portion of Portland's central east side for a "proof of concept" network due online by the end of September. MetroFi's contract gives the company two years to build out the rest of the city.
Big municipalities, including Philadelphia and San Francisco, plan their own citywide projects, too, but no metropolis has a free Wi-Fi network such as the one Portland plans.
Portland officials said Wednesday that they intend to use the network primarily to complement existing communications systems, not replace them. MetroFi's network will use a mix of wireless technologies, including microwaves and a new, long-range standard called WiMAX. Such technology may provide more reliability for city services than Wi-Fi.
Portland commissioners acknowledged Wednesday that the wireless project puts the city in uncharted territory. But they hailed the project as an opportunity to make the Internet more affordable without spending taxpayer money on network construction.
"It's a bet. We don't know whether this will work or not," said Commissioner Erik Sten. "I have my fingers crossed, and my laptop ready to turn on."
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