"Maybe somebody would want to set Wi-Fi up for the zoo. Somebody else might want to set it up at the Shakespeare Theater and somebody else at the tennis center. It's more focused around specific venues," explained Paul Cosgrave, DoITT commissioner.
Cosgrave said he hopes that the high traffic of these areas combined with the smaller amount of hardware necessary to cover them will make providing services profitable. Adding to that potential is the exploding popularity of handheld devices that can use Wi-Fi, said Nicholas Sbordone, DoITT director of external affairs.
"It's no longer just the person with his or her laptop who goes out on lunch to sit in the park and do work. Almost everyone I know has a mobile device of some sort, and if they're in a park or public space, they could simply jump on the Wi-Fi," Sbordone said.
To sweeten the deal, the city would provide space on city-owned structures for the Wi-Fi transmitters and antennas free of charge to the vendors. The city would also publicize the hotspots on bus stop shelters, phone kiosks or banners outside parks.
The deadline for responding to the DoITT's RFI is Friday, June 12. Time will show whether vendors produce a plan that works.