Report Finds U.S. Municipal Wireless Market Will Hit $900 Million By 2010

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The U.S. market for municipal broadband wireless, mostly Wi-Fi, including equipment and set up costs, will exceed $900 million by the end of the decade, according to MuniWireless' "2007 State of the Market" report.

Wireless connectivity with the Internet is alive and well in the U.S., mostly in small to mid-size cities, according to Esme Vos of MuniWireless.

"We estimated the U.S. wireless market would experience year-to-year growth rates of around 33 percent from 2007 through 2010," Vos said.

About 400 small cities and even rural counties in the U.S. as of August signified they wanted municipal, public Wi-Fi, she said, adding many of them were motivated by the lack of high-speed Internet connectivity or a lack of competition that allows a single provider to charge high fees for services that many need for small businesses and agribusinesses.

Once it was enough for the municipality to provide space on utility poles for the Wi-Fi antennas in return for free access to the network. But the vendor is not guaranteed income this way.

The approach today is for the municipality to guarantee a minimum annual contract for municipal services. Excess connectivity is sold to businesses and private individuals, according to PC World.