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WiFi gold rush. Private sector declares open season on municipal wireless

“You’re talking about billions and billions of dollars in opportunity worldwide, and definitely billions in the United States in the coming years,” said Riz Khaliq, municipal WiFi executive at IBM Corp.

Wireless networks are not new to state and local government. Public safety departments were among the first to embrace them. But cities increasingly are expanding the capabilities of these networks, implementing applications and creating wireless mesh networks to provide Internet access to residents.

Mesh networks offer the potential to cover a large area through a series of connected “hot spots,” each offering wireless access to the Internet. The hot spots are linked to create a mesh, which is tied into a hard-wired network through a series of extraction points.

Many American cities lay claim to offering municipal WiFi, but most are still in the pilot stage or only offer service in limited areas. Tempe, Ariz., is the closest to full coverage, WiFi experts said.

A study by Forrester Research Inc., Cambridge, Mass., commissioned by IBM, predicts that the North American market for wireless broadband services is increasing from just over $1 billion in 2005 to a projected $9 billion in 2010.

By Ethan Butterfield

Full Story: http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/21_9/statelocal/28436-1.html

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