According to TechWeb News, a wireless deployment planned for Gilbert, Arizona by equipment supplier Strix Systems will create a 187-square-mile network when it's completed. The deployment began in Tempe, Arizona, and has continued to extend into neighboring communities.

The network in Gilbert will cover that community's 76 square miles, and will be contiguous with networks covering the nearby cities of Tempe and Chandler, Arizona. Users will then be able to access the network anywhere they go within the three cities.

"The three cities clearly realized the value of creating a single network that all residents, visitors, and businesses can use, as opposed to deploying three separate, incompatible mesh networks," says Ryan McCaigue, Director of Network Engineering at MobilePro Corp., which will be overseeing the design, deployment and operation of the network.

MobilePro has deployed all three citywide networks mentioned above, using Strix's multi-radio, multi-channel and multi-RF mesh solution. The network offers free access to local government, school and college Web sites, but charges a fee for access to other parts of the Web.