Star Tribune reports that “sparsely populated cities around Lake Minnetonka worry wireless might be too costly.”

This summer, the Lake Minnetonka Cable Commission suspended their plans for wi-fi to the 17 cities that they work with. With that, each city had to make their own decision. They decided to wait and see.

West metro is sparsely populated but covers a lot of land with 52,000 people spread over several hundred square miles. That makes any type of broadband deployment difficult. Some residents get access via cable, others through Qwest, but a significant number cannot get broadband.

Medina, MN (population 4,005 as of the 2000 census), did a survey of 550 residents and 60 percent said the “city providing high-speed Internet was either ‘essential’ or ‘very important.'”

Sad that rural broadband problems begin within twenty miles of a major urban center.

Wireless net is on hold for many cities in west metro by Jenna Ross