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SkyPilot Networks has announced that Foster City, Calif., has selected MetroFi to build out a wireless network powered by SkyPilot equipment in this San Mateo County city. Free wireless Internet coverage will be available to the city's 30,000 residents as well as visitors. The three square mile citywide mixed-use network will also provide Foster City's public works and field personnel as well as fire safety officials with expanded access to wireless services in an effort to facilitate more responsive communication through a cost-effective network.

"We are very excited about the prospect of having Wi-Fi services available in Foster City," said Steve Toler, the city's administrative services director. "MetroFi's network will provide our residents and businesses with a fantastic opportunity for Internet connectivity in public spaces. We look forward to working with MetroFi and seeing Wi-Fi services thrive in our community."

Once commercially available, anyone with a Wi-Fi-enabled computer or personal digital assistant (PDA) will have the ability to gain access to 1 Mbps Internet. Providing the wireless Internet connection is SkyPilot's SkyExtender DualBand, a high-capacity mesh backhaul device with an integrated Wi-Fi access point mounted on streetlights throughout the city.

Support for free Internet access at speeds up to 1 Mbps, delivered throughout the area by MetroFi, will come through advertising from local and national advertisers. Customers accessing the network will see a banner or text advertisement in the browser's frame. For $20 a month, users can subscribe to a premium service without advertising.