There's a debate going on in Pittsburgh as to whether a downtown wireless network would
hinder the development of a citywide service.
During a public hearing, officials from US Wireless Online presented their proposal to place equipment on over 50 light posts in the downtown area. At the same time, an EarthLink representative stated that his company is ready, willing, and able to build a citywide network in the same manner as they currently are in Philadelphia, meaning the company will construct it at its own expense. The company added their system would be compatible with US Wireless'.
However, a local interest group said that the downtown wireless network could be used as the basis for other neighborhood WiFi networks.
The problem with these "neighborhood" efforts is that they only are concerned with users in the their own area and not with others surrounding the neighborhood. A citywide network serves all, not just a selected few.
