Vos said there are 300 U.S. cities with municipal wireless networks in place or RFPs under way. She said that in addition to the economic development and public safety benefits, large cities "really do care about the digital divide" and want to reach residents who do not have access to the Internet.

Part of offering wireless service in less-affluent areas is the fact that some inner city neighborhoods don't have a wired broadband infrastructure in place from private carriers. "It's not just that cities are caring for the poor in these cases," she said. "It's also that's its hard to redevelop areas like whole sections of the Bronx when nobody [private] wants to come there."