Article: New York says no to muni Wi-Fi; City not building wireless services; companies step in.

Byline: Amanda Fung

on a drizzly thursday afternoon recently, Rob Weinberg was pleasantly surprised to learn that he could access the Internet from his laptop while sitting in the atrium at 60 Wall St. He had thought that Bryant Park was the only public place where he could hop online.

"Even on a rainy day, I can get onto the Internet,'' says Mr. Weinberg, a director at Hebrew Union College.

Mr. Weinberg has stumbled onto two of New York City's wireless "hot spots'': public spaces equipped with tiny antennas that let computer users within a 150-foot radius get a free high-speed broadband connection.

Around the country, cities such as ...

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