An article in today's Chicago Tribune suggests that the city's plans for a citywide wireless Internet service could falter simply because there's so much Wi-Fi already available, in the form of more than 500 established hotspots. "It's already relatively easy to find a free Wi-Fi signal," says Light Reading Insider analyst Tim Kridel.

What's more, according to Kridel, the Wi-Fi that's already been deployed isn't all that popular. The free Wi-Fi available in Daley Plaza, Millennium Park and city libraries haven't gotten as much traffic as expected.

And that, Kridel says, makes Chicago an unattractive option for potential vendors who might respond to the city's RFP for a Wi-Fi deployment, which would cost any vendor about $18 million to set up.

Also today, Wisconsin's Capital Times suggests that citywide Wi-Fi could actually serve to widen the digital divide between the haves and the have-nots, thanks to the fees that will be charged for access. "Having an Internet signal bouncing all over town doesn't matter much to those who can't afford their February heat bill, much less a high-powered Dell laptop," writes reporter Mike Ivey.

"There are ... plenty of reasons to build out a wireless network," he writes. "But thinking it will address the digital divide isn't one of them."