Interesting local news: SupraNet is acquiring Mad City Broadband.
“Mad City Broadband specialized in wireless and fiber optic networks in Madison. Through this acquisition, SupraNet is able to provide small and medium sized businesses the high-speed wireless and fiber optic network options that were previously reserved for large businesses.”
For a while, I had hope that Mad City Broadband would bring residential wi-fi to the whole city, but I speculate that this change makes that hope less likely to become reality. I was a customer of SupraNet many years ago and was always very happy with their service, but they are definitely focused on the business community rather than the consumer.
I thought residential wifi was typically an expensive proposition and the solution for providers was to use WiMax. I have a flavor of such a solution (non line of site) at my mosque with great success. The ISP guarantees a 5 Mbps symmetric connection.