Portland may have lost its muni Wi-Fi but it still has the antennas

What happens to all that equipment when municipal Wi-Fi projects go bust? Nothing, it seems: The city of Portland has found itself stuck with 600 Wi-Fi antennas strewn across the city, reminders of a promising project that failed dismally.

MetroFi set up Portland's Wi-Fi network beginning in 2006 at an originally estimated cost of $10 million. The network was initially planned to comprise 2,000 access points and run at a speed of 1Mbps, which would be supported by advertising and upselling users to even better service levels. MetroFi called it quits long before completing the network (and after an investment of "only" $2 million), recognizing that it would never come close to recouping its investment. The city, however, is now stuck with a lot of (unsightly, to some) equipment that doesn't actually work.

Dismantling the 600 antennas may sound like easy work, but since they're located atop street lights and traffic signals, the job is dangerous and costly: At $150 each, the estimate for removal tops $90,000 total. MetroFi put up a bond to cover $30,000 of that dismantling, but the city (and, thus, taxpayers) looks like it will be stuck with the rest of the tab.

The Oregonian even wonders whether the dismantled antennas have any resale value in an era of floundering muni Wi-Fi projects. Portland is hardly alone here. Even once high-flyer Philadelphia found its network going dark earlier this year, revived only after a group of (obviously insane) private investors stepped in.

Looking to set up your own wide-area Wi-Fi rig? Psst... I know where you can get a great deal on some gear.

LINK: Wi-Fi's dead; antennas live on