Can You Hear Me Now?

Los Angeles has joined New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Rio Rancho, NM (my old hometown) in exploring plans to provide citywide wireless coverage. Although the new WiMax standard makes this a technical possibility, I predict that it won't work for social and commercial reasons. Would you want to put a computer on a party line with the other X million residents of the city? If you are the telephone company, are you going to stand still while government provides access to VOIP and destroys your market base? Who will be paying for this? (You get three guesses, and the first two don't count) A few cities may implement these plans, but it won't last and it won't spread. JMHO.