Ben Waxman has a smart write-up today on The Next Mayor about the fate of Wireless Philadelphia. (In case you haven't been following this story, Earthlink built the city what was to be a citywide municipal wireless network. They bailed out of the municipal wi-fi business entirely some time ago, and what we have left is a chunk of the network that needs either another company or the city itself to complete it -- and maybe even make some money from it.)

Here's my longshot idea. Could the city partner up with the surrounding counties -- Montgomery, Delaware, Chester, and Bucks, maybe even Camden and Burlington -- and regional agencies (SEPTA, PATCO, the port, and the airport) to build a regional wireless network? Then, instead of having a citywide hotspot, you'd have a giant metropolitan hotspot. Whether you'd be downtown or in Doylestown, you'd have the same wi-fi.

In case there isn't an alarm going off in your head yet, I'll save you the trouble. This would turn a big and possibly disastrous project into a bigger and even more difficult and incomplete project. After all, it's not like any of these groups can ever come together on the basic stuff. And you are right.

But stay with me in Sim City land, or at least Penn Praxis land, for a little while longer. A metropolitan wireless network actually solves a number of the problems of the original Wireless Philadelphia.

First, it vastly enlarges the potential market. Not only are other municipalities increasingly faced with the problem of needing wi-fi access in their work for local government, but many people in the cities and suburbs surrounding Philadelphia would be interested to. It taps into higher income groups (fewer subsidies) and gives you more saturation.

Second, everyone can help bear the costs of finishing the network -- not just Philadelphia.

Third, it better meets a need. We have home networks and work networks and even public hotspots at cafes or libraries. What we don't have, apart from expensive EV-DO cards and data plans, is continuous wi-fi for commuters.

Finally, it's great press. Not only do we have a great forward-thinking city, but a great forward-thinking region, with Philadelphia leading the way.

Just an idea to kick around.