The Ruins of Trenton

City Council Tuesday moved to approve the contract of a Florida firm that says it can do for Trenton what numerous other Internet providers have failed to do successfully for other cities: construct a successful citywide wireless fidelity network.

Past renditions of E-Path Communications Inc.'s plan seemed to suggest the Wi-Fi network would be free for use by city residents, but commentary in council Tuesday suggested Internet access would be free for the city government to use while residents and businesses would be charged, albeit a cheaper rate than DSL or cable Internet access.

The firm would place what sound like heavy-duty wireless routers at locations throughout 7.7-square mile Trenton, at enough density to blanket the town in a complete Wi-Fi shroud. The construction of the network would be free, with the company recouping its costs through charging for services in Trenton.

While building a wireless Internet network that could potentially provide cheaper Internet services throughout town sounds like a great idea, it has been questioned whether such a network is even feasible.

Larger communications firms would probably be able to perform the same service at a lower overhead cost, but they have not yet successfully built a citywide wireless network, even in cities much larger and more affluent than Trenton.

So why haven't they?

Also, in a city where nearly one in four residents live at or below the poverty level, it seems that there may be other more pressing needs for the populace than widespread cheap Internet access.

Then again, it does sound like a great idea, but Trenton will see just how this ends up working out.