One of the highlights of the inaugural Muniwireless Conference, held in San Francisco September 28-29, was the release of what was described as the first comprehensive statistical analysis on the municipal wireless market. The report, entitled 2005 Municipal Wireless State of the Market Report, estimates that U.S. cities, towns and counties will spend nearly $700 million over the next three years to build municipal-owned wireless broadband networks.

The study leaves little doubt that municipal wireless is destined to grow at rapid rates in the foreseeable future despite lingering questions surrounding the technical and political challenges. It predicts that the U.S. market will enjoy a compound annual growth rate of 134 percent between 2004 and 2007 and will exceed $400 million by 2007 as more municipalities, including larger cities like San Francisco and Portland, embark on wireless initiatives.

Esme Vos, founder of Muniwireless.com
Authored by Esme Vos, founder of Muniwireless.com and a leading authority on municipal wireless, the study is based on in-depth, personal interviews with municipal IT executives, elected officials, and municipal department heads across the country. As