The Department of Administration is seeking vendors to build a public wireless network for downtown Madison and the airport. According to Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, the project won’t use any taxpayer money. It will be installed by the winning bidder who will pay the state, county and city for the right to run the network.
According to the Wisconsin State Journal:
Regardless of who ends up building and operating the network, officials expect access will cost “substantially less” than most users currently pay for Internet service, and the initial coverage area will include the Dane County Regional Airport and anywhere within about 1 1/2 miles of the state Capitol – an area roughly bounded by the Yahara River in the east, the UW-Madison engineering campus in the west and the intersection of West Washington Avenue and Park Street in the southwest.
The wireless network will adhere to the Wi-Fi, or 802.11b, standard, which is the most widely deployed wireless networking protocol.
Source: Wisconsin State Journal (available to Wisconsinites via Badgerlink)