The city of light picks MetroFi: MetroFi will unwire Aurora, Ill., using SkyPilot equipment, the gear that they've deployed in recent years to cover their three cities in the Bay Area. MetroFi has bids in all over, including for Portland, Ore. The Aurora network will have both public and governmental use; advertising will cover the cost of free public Wi-Fi. The city covers 42 square miles and has 170,000 residents.
Pro-municipal trio Jim Baller, Greg Richardson, and Esme Vos inaugurate Local Loop podcast: Baller and Richardson will host the biweekly podcast; Vos was their first guest. All three make part or all their living consulting for or writing about the municipal broadband market, Baller as a lawyer, Richardson as a policy/financial consultant, and Vos as an analyst. Richardson's firm provided advice to San Francisco and Philadelphia, among other cities.