About 95% of Springfield is getting WiFi, courtesy of AT&T:

[Mayoral spokesman Ernie Slottag] said the agreement with AT&T, which would need the council’s approval, would be similar to existing access agreements with companies such as Cingular Wireless, Verizon and Insight Communications.

“Basically, we have to determine how much we will charge per pole. It could be 300 to 400 poles citywide,” Slottag said, adding that telecommunications companies typically pay an annual fee for use of the utility polls. The city’s cost initially was expected to be about $8,000 per year to power the nodes.

My take: This is the way to do city-wide WiFi. A private company provides the equipment, pays the city for use of their utility poles, and determines a cost structure that will allow them to be competitive in the marketplace yet still profitable. AT&T is being treated just like a cable company with a franchise agreement, and that’s how it should be. If a company wanted to provide such a system here in Peoria, I would be in favor of it.