Bye-by, WiFi, don't forget to write

Cincinnati City Manager Milton Dohoney’s decision this week to put plans to develop citywide wireless broadband Internet access (WiFi) on indefinite hold is a smart but hardly surprising decision. Dohoney’s office, which in May announced a goal of turning the entire city wireless in three years, spent $18,000 (out of $50,000 advanced by City Council) to study the plan’s feasibility.

Dohoney was right to explore the issue. WiFi is tempting for many reasons -- connecting government employees for greater efficiency, extending Internet access to residents of all socioeconomic levels, having gee-whiz amenities to attract tech-savvy young professionals to live and work in the city. But municipal WiFi systems, built as a government function instead of by private firms in response to free-market demands, have numerous downsides.

In a May editorial, the Enquirer urged caution, citing reports of problems other cities were facing with WiFi rollouts, including the fact that leading provider Earthlink is restucturing – one of the major reasons Dohoney cited in his decision this week, four months later. Imagine that. Then last month, I updated the situation in a blog item that detailed further reports indicating that the economic model just wasn’t working – and that there were signal coverage problems, lower-than-expected usage, higher-than-expected infrastructure costs, and private firms’ reluctance to risk building such systems. The city’s study confirmed those reports.

“It’s not smart right now. The market is too volatile,” said Meg Olberding, spokesperson for Dohoney’s office. “WiFi providers haven’t decided what model works for them.” Or if there’s a municipal WiFi model that works at all. So it was a prudent decision by Dohoney to step on the brakes now, instead of going forward with a costly build-out that may make a splash now but could sink like a rock a year from now.

As for the rationale behind spending $18,000 to find out what a good Google search (or maybe an editorial) could have told it, the city is using what I’d call the “Cialis argument”: It’s so we can be ready when the moment finally is right. The research, Olberding said, will stand the city in good stead later on when the WiFi market improves.

Well, maybe. Technology continues to evolve rapidly. In a few years, conventional WiFi may seem as hopelessly archaic as a 14.4Kb modem. Meanwhile, there are many free or low-cost wireless Internet options out there that do not require taxpayer subsidy. As Olberding said, the city should keep looking for ways to increase government efficiency, widen residents’ access to information and innovate to attract young residents. That may someday include a comprehensive Internet system. When the moment finally is right, of course.