Life in the Inland Empire is about to get a little sweeter. The booming city of Riverside, CA., with its 300,000 residents, will happy to hear that AT&T is working with MetroFi to bring free public wireless internet access to the entire city. MetroFi’s experience in deploying city-wide wireless networks will prove invaluable in covering the 55-square mile area of Riverside with the WiFi-mesh hardware on top of city-owned power poles and other infrastructure. But, as with everythign in life, the free public WiFi system will not come without strings. The MetroFi service will require citizens to endure a bit of advertising in exchange for free internet. AT&T will also offer a subscription-based service for visitors to the city – $7.99 per day or $15.99 for a weekly pass.
AT&T’s move to provide free public WiFi goes against staunch opposition from industry-rival Verizon. Verizon, among others, see free municipal WiFi as a threat to their landline-based premium services – so AT&T may be trying to one-up their enemy.
The service is set to launch on Monday with a phase-one rollout in downtown Riverside, Hunter Technology Park and the Adams Auto Center.
[Via: Yahoo News]