Boston plans citywide Wi-Fi

The US city of Boston is the latest metropolis to plan a citywide Wi-Fi network.

The Massachusetts city is setting up a not-for-profit agency to run the network, which will span 49 square miles and enable 590,000 residents to connect to the internet.

Other US cities including San Francisco and Philadelphia also hope to set up citywide Wi-Fi, though they have asked third-party providers to set up and maintain the network.

Boston hopes to raise $16-$20m (£8.5-£10.5m) from local businesses, hospitals and universities to build the network.

It is hoped that the network will cut the price of broadband for Boston residents from around $35 (£18.50) to $15 (£8) a month.

Currently, 40 per cent of Boston households use broadband. Thirty per cent still use dial-up and 30 per cent don't use the internet at all. However, broadband is available to 90 per cent of residents.

Any money generated is expected to go towards improving city services, such as a Wi-Fi VoIP (‘VoWi-Fi’) network that will allow users to make calls on internet-enabled mobile phones.

Pamela Reeve, former CEO of business organisation Lightbridge and a member of Boston's Wireless Task Force, has been appointed to set up the Wi-Fi agency. The agency will own and operate the network, but it won't be an ISP. Instead it will allow neutral access to other providers.

Other US cities are looking to set up Wi-Fi, but the only networks already operating are pilots in suburban areas including Tempe, Arizona and Corpus Christi, Texas.

Broadband ISP EarthLink, which has the contract to set up citywide networks in Philadelphia and San Francisco, recently opened its first Wi-Fi network in Anaheim, California.

The Taiwanese city of Taipei already has Wi-Fi, and is now building a citywide VoIP network.