In 1998, Portland, Ore., City Councilman Eric Sten, at the behest of a thriving local technology industry, tried to force AT&T to open its local broadband cable networks to competing ISPs. AT&T sued the city, losing the first round but winning on appeal.

Sten and his assistant, Marshall Runkel, took two lessons away from the fight. First, that competition is crucial to realizing broadband's promise. Second, that similar projects are much more appealing if they don't provoke the legal teams of major telecom corporations.

That's why Runkel emphasizes his interest in a public-private partnership to provide Wi-Fi access throughout Portland's downtown business district to spur economic growth and broadband competition. Portland has no desire to become an ISP, Runkel said. But it has a lot to offer any company that wants to provide Wi-Fi access, including rooftop access, fiber rings for backhauling traffic — even cash.

“The city spent half a million dollars putting up holiday lights downtown,” Runkel said. “If there's a business case to do that, I've got to think there's a business case to do Wi-Fi.”

Though the Wi-Fi initiative is still in the idea stage, Sten and Runkel discussed proposals in April with Intel, which has a massive presence in Portland and (have you heard?) some kind of passing interest in Wi-Fi. Nonprofit groups such as the Janus Wireless Project and the Personal Telco Project are already planting Wi-Fi flags throughout Portland. And if nonprofits beat Runkel to the Wi-Fi punch, he said he would cheer them on. But Runkel won't wait for them to do what he considers to be the city's duty.

“In these tough times, cities aren't doing their jobs if they're not asking, ‘What can we do to spur economic development?’” he said. “Technology jobs are well-paying and environmentally friendly — exactly the kind of new businesses we want in Portland.”

Just leave your lawyers at the city limits, thank you.