AT&T, at times an opponent of municipal wireless networks, is now going to build one.Riverside, Calif., on Tuesday approved a plan for AT&T to build a wireless network throughout developed areas of the city of about 300,000. In addition to public Wi-Fi, AT&T will deliver wireless service to city employees and public safety agencies on a licensed frequency. Free and paid public services should be available starting early next year, according to AT&T. AT&T, the nation’s largest carrier, has pushed for laws that would block certain kinds of municipal networks—specifically, ones owned by governments. It now says its position hasn’t changed, but rather the market has.“We believe that the ownership of networks, and the management and ongoing operation, should be left to the professional network managers,” said Carl Nerup, a vice president of business development. The company also is working on a city wireless deal with Springfield, Ill., and has responded to an RFP from Sacramento, Calif. AT&T will own and operate the Riverside network, which will be built by MetroFi, under a five-year renewable contract with the city. The carrier will use city assets such as light poles for positioning access points, and the city will pay for its special licensed service. Other service providers will be able to buy wholesale access and resell services.Anyone in Riverside will be able to use a free, advertising-supported service that delivers between 200Kbps and 500Kbps. A service with up to 1Mbps will be available for about US$20 per month or on a daily basis. But subscribers to AT&T-Yahoo DSL will be able to buy the monthly Wi-Fi service for about $7 or $8, Nerup said. AT&T has changed its tune because the legislative fight against municipal networks has failed in most parts of the United States.“They decided, you know, ‘If you can’t beat them, join them,’ ” said Esme Vos, founder of MuniWireless.com. AT&T’s Nerup said cities have shifted to embrace public-private partnerships like the Riverside deal. But a deal with the incumbent carrier doesn’t meet one goal of many municipal-network backers, according to Vos: introducing a new competitor.Cities that turn to incumbents for municipal wireless should get strong contracts to ensure they meet commitments such as service to lower-income communities, said Craig Settles, a municipal wireless analyst in Oakland, Calif.But by going with an incumbent, cities can get a whole package of wired and wireless services that works together, said Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney. In addition, they can be more certain the infrastructure will work and be upgraded, versus turning to an unproven provider that might run out of money down the road, he said.-Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service (San Francisco Bureau) Related Links: DoJ OKs AT&T’s BellSouth Buy Cisco, Cognio to Tackle Wi-Fi Interference Wyse Ships Thin Clients With Embedded Wi-Fi San Francisco to Study City-Owned Wi-FiCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content feature Expedia poised to take flight with generative AI CTO Rathi Murthy sees the online travel service’s vast troves of data and AI expertise fueling a two-pronged transformation strategy aimed at growing the company by bringing more of the travel industry online. By Paula Rooney Jun 02, 2023 7 mins Travel and Hospitality Industry Digital Transformation Artificial Intelligence case study Deoleo doubles down on sustainability through digital transformation The Spanish multinational olive oil processing company is immersed in a digital transformation journey to achieve operational efficiency and contribute to the company's sustainability strategy. By Nuria Cordon Jun 02, 2023 6 mins CIO Supply Chain Digital Transformation brandpost Resilient data backup and recovery is critical to enterprise success As global data volumes rise, business must prioritize their resiliency strategies. By Neal Weinberg Jun 01, 2023 4 mins Security brandpost Democratizing HPC with multicloud to accelerate engineering innovations Cloud for HPC is facilitating broader access to high performance computing and accelerating innovations and opportunities for all types of organizations. By Tanya O'Hara Jun 01, 2023 6 mins Multi Cloud Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe