IN 2006, Mayor Menino had a vision of a wireless Boston with Internet access on nearly every park bench and street corner. He wasn't alone. Philadelphia had already announced an ''unprecedented public/private partnership.'' EarthLink, the Internet service provider, would finance, build, and manage a 135-square-mile network there.
Menino ignored that hype. Instead he took seemingly odd advice from a wireless task force: Instead of contracting with an established tech company, the city should have a newly created nonprofit organization raise money to wire Boston.
Skepticism flared. If the nonprofit idea was so good, how come only Boston was doing it? The nonprofit - openairboston.net - was created anyway. But technical and fund-raising woes made for a slow start, and plans for all of Boston to go wireless by 2008 were scrapped.
Nonetheless, on Monday the city made a proud stand at the Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School in Dorchester, when openairboston.net officially launched its first wireless pilot network in Grove Hall and Dudley Square. The coverage area is a modest 1.1 square miles, but it's a substantial victory, especially for the 8,000 households that can now buy Internet access for $9.95 month.
Meanwhile, by February, EarthLink had announced that providing municipal wireless was ''no longer consistent with the company's strategic direction.'' The company left Philadelphia and other cities in the lurch. Boston, in contrast, never expected an Internet company to provide something for nothing. It looks wise in retrospect.
The city still faces the considerable challenge of keeping this nonprofit effort alive. That means expanding earlier outreach efforts to more teenagers, parents, elderly residents, and small-business owners. This network's success will be measured in part by how many people say, ''I never thought I'd use the Internet, but .....''
The city and openairboston.net also have to study usage patterns and learn how to serve the two target neighborhoods. Wireless networks in other neighborhoods should follow. Boston officials are looking at launching another pilot program that would cover the Fenway and Mission Hill. Progress toward a completely wireless Boston may continue to be slow. But that's OK as long as the growth remains steady, and as long as the network keeps meeting the mayor's goals of promoting economic development, closing the digital divide, and improving city services.
Fifty years from now, Boston's long, demanding wireless journey could well be seen as an innovative civic leap.
