Local governments have been active in rolling-out or announcing plans to build citywide wireless networks to provide high speed internet access to residents and businesses. This paper provides a critical assessment of the economic rationale for municipal government involvement in these services and provides a context for examining their development. This paper finds that municipal Wi-Fi networks do not meet the criteria of public utilities. In terms of costs and benefits, municipal involvement in sponsoring and supporting wireless broadband networks represent a distortion in the marketplace and potential interference with the evolution of services and applications.
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