Italian Province Ready To Partner On Wi-Fi Mesh NetworkItalian Province Ready To Partner On Wi-Fi Mesh Network

More than 200 rural towns in the northern Italian province of Brescia are slated to get broadband services over a Wi-Fi mesh network. But instead of trying to get a service provider to foot the entire bill as many communities have, the province is putting up $2.6 million in hopes of having more say in how the network's used.

The network would stretch across 4,800 square kilometers. In splitting the cost with a service provider, the province wants to influence how the network can be accessed by city workers, residents, and businesses.

Wi-Fi mesh provides network coverage through a blanket of access points. Brescia has tapped Cisco for equipment. About 600 access points have been installed, and another 200 will go up before the network is completed. The province hasn't said what service provider is partnering on the effort.

More than 300 U.S. municipalities have deployed or are in the process of deploying Wi-Fi networks. Larger, regional deployments like Brescia's are becoming more common for wireless networks, says Joel Vincent, Cisco's outdoor wireless senior marketing manager. Cisco has deals to provide Wi-Fi mesh equipment in the Northern region of Singapore and in Silicon Valley, and Motorola has a deal to provide mobile WiMax across Pakistan.