Chicago attracting big names to muni-WiFi project

Chicago has attracted some heavy hitters to its muni-WiFi project. Earthlink and AT&T are the leading bidders for the network, and bidders have been sweetening the pot. Earthlink says it will cover the suburbs if it wins the bid while NextWLAN has reportedly made a proposal that includes indoor wireless to supplement the outdoor WiFi system.

Chicago could be an interesting breeding ground for wireless broadband given the fact that Chicago is one of Sprint Nextel's cities for early mobile WiMAX deployments. AT&T will be able to offer DSL, mobile wireless and WiFi bundles. Earthlink could be the plucky alternative as it is already beta testing VoIP WiFi handsets in Anaheim, CA for relatively cheap.

To read more about the potential wireless broadband alternatives in Chicago:
- take a look at this article from Wi-Fi Net News