Rhode Island wants statewide Wi-Fi
America's smallest state is seeking to become its first to offer a wireless broadband network from border to border.
Backers of Rhode Island's $20 million project say it would improve services and make the state a testing ground for new business technologies.
It also comes at a time when Rhode Island's capital of Providence is stepping up efforts to lure business from Boston, about a 50-minute drive away, in neighboring Massachusetts, where office rents are among the nation's most expensive.
The Rhode Island Wireless Innovation Networks (RI-WINs) should be fully in place by 2007, providing wireless connectivity throughout state, whose land mass of about 1,045 square miles (2,700 square kilometers) is only slightly more than double the size of metropolitan Los Angeles.
