Cities Face Backlash As They Plan Municipal Wireless Services; Legislation Restricts Programs; Wi-Fi plans in such cities as Philadelphia draw criticism from lawmakers, think tanks.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: MIKE ANGELL

A growing number of cities plan to offer wireless Internet access as a municipal service. But as those plans spread, a backlash appears to be forming.

More than 50 U.S. cities have set up or plan to install wireless broadband networks. Minneapolis is the latest to join the list.

A number of think tanks oppose such moves. And some state lawmakers look to ban cities from going into the wireless business.

Critics say city wireless networks waste tax money. The goal of city networks -- low-cost broadband Internet access for all -- is noble. But business, not cities, should meet that goal, they say.

Cities are "proposing to cover large areas with wireless," said Steve Titch, a researcher for the Heartland Institute, a libertarian think tank. "But this is a very dubious proposition for cities."

Advocates say city-owned wireless is needed, since private services don't provide adequate access at fair rates. And the backlash against municipal plans was spurred by corporate wireless providers, they say, not individuals.