US Internet seeks 17 deals: The Minnesota-based firm, which received the nod for Minneapolis's fiber/Wi-Fi network, is looking to bid on 17 more projects, although where that number comes from, it's unclear. Working with Charys Holding Co. in Atlanta, the firm already has a deal in Atlanta and is working on a pilot in Boston. (The Boston project is under Charys's name; it's the square mile in Roxbury.) Minneapolis signed their contract with US Internet last week.

Hartford Courant weighs in on city's ambitious project: The paper worries that early municipal Wi-Fi rollouts haven't gone to plan, and that the potential revenue isn't well described. But they like the general idea, and the plan to test, first, as well as to offer subsidized computers to low-income residents. Which is, unfortunately, a large percentage of Hartford's population. My wife is from Connecticut, and she discovered relatively recently that the lack of counties in that state may be part of Hartford's problem, as well as several coastal cities, such as New Haven, where I lived for five years. In Washington State, where we live now, the county (King) and its largest city (Seattle) tend to counterbalance each other for certain resources; it's a good dynamic. In Hartford, there's no fallback, no way to leaven income tax, property tax, or sales tax across a greater area to spread the wealth. The middle-class largely fled Hartford decades ago, although they're coming back as the nature of the town has changed. (Disagreement welcome!)