PORTLAND, Ore.—Portland, Ore., city officials announced that MetroFi beat out Earthlink Inc. and VeriLAN to supply Wi-Fi networking across the city’s 135-square miles. In a press release, city officials said MetroFi won the contract “by submitting a proposal that excelled in demonstrated operational experience and its level of public benefit.”
Under terms of the agreement, Mountain View, Calif.-based MetroFi will offer both a free service and a variety of subscriber-based plans to local businesses and citizens within Portland using Wi-Fi and pre-WiMAX technologies. Free service would be supported by advertising within the Web browser, city officials said.
Last year, MetroFi launched free ad-sponsored Wi-Fi service in Sunnyvale, Calif., which has since been extended to MetroFi’s subscriber networks in Cupertino and Santa Clara, Calif. The company also won the rights to unwire Aurora, Ill., a suburb of Chicago.
Portland city officials say they plan to use wireless capability to make their own operations more efficient while advancing Portland’s competitive advantage to attract and retain businesses.
“This partnership between MetroFi and the city represents a monumental effort to bridge the digital divide,” stated Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman. “Free wireless Internet access will benefit residents, businesses and the city’s many visitors.”
MetroFi pointed out that the network will be built at no cost to the city and would supply Portland’s 540,000 residents, as well as visitors, with free wireless access at speeds of 1 megabit per second.
“Portland’s vision of utilizing the MetroFi network for affordable Internet to all residents is defining how cities partner with the private sector,” said Chuck Haas, chief executive and co-founder of MetroFi.
The city says it expects to launch citywide Wi-Fi services within one to two years.
