Well, this is certainly interesting news. We've been seeing for months on end how telcos and cable companies have been fighting against citywide wireless initiatives, including lobbying efforts to get legislation passed in various states.
So, in a surprise, AT&T has teamed with muni WiFi vendor MetroFi to submit a proposal to build a citywide wireless network in Riverside, California. Basically, the service will be free, supported by advertisers, to users featuring download speeds of 500Kbps and upload speeds of 256Kbps. There also will be a faster fee-paid service featuring 1Mbps that will be priced at around $20 a month.
This is not the first wireless network bid that AT&T has tried to obtain, but in any event this is a welcome development. At the very least, AT&T is smart enough to realize that fighting against citywide wireless is a losing battle, and it would behoove them to get into the game and get a slice of the pie instead of being left hungry.
