Public access: "Weak" reason for muni-WiFi?

Muni-WiFi analyst Craig Settles has released a report claiming that public access, or bridging the digital divide, will be "widely viewed as the weakest financial pillar in the business case for municipal wireless" by the end of this year. Mobile workforce applications will be muni-WiFi's biggest ROI generator, according to Settles. While the prediction reads like an obvious point, Settles is dismantling the political rhetoric that seems to precede the launch of most muni-WiFi services in the U.S. Recent tests of the muni-WiFi launches in Milipitas, CA, and Mountain View, CA show how limited a $20 per month muni-WiFi service will be for some folks. What's more, it usually only works outside.

For more on Settles' report:
- take a look at this article from GigaOM