There’s a great update on the Wireless Minneapolis program in the Minneapolis Star Tribune this week.

There’s some good news. It sounds as if people are generally very happy with their access through the network – and the network vendor (US Internet) has given $563,000 into a Digital Inclusion Fund created to promote broadband and broadband use in Minneapolis. Also the Minneapolis Wireless network is one of the few successes of its kind. In fact, the network recently received an award from the National League of Cities based on the improved quality of life brought to light through the network.

US Internet’s business plan has been credited with leading to the success – part of that recipe includes a contract with the resident city. In Minneapolis that means — a guaranteed $12.5 million, 10-year contract with the city of Minneapolis.

The not-so-good news is that the City of Minneapolis seems to be paying for capacity it’s not currently using. According to the Star Tribune…

But one of the key reasons for US Internet’s success — a guaranteed $12.5 million, 10-year contract with the city of Minneapolis that made the city the network’s anchor tenant — is now causing problems at City Hall. City departments — a third of which don’t use the wireless service at all — are now being charged for it. Department heads are grumbling that the contract is eating into their already tight budgets and they might need to cut back on services or forgo a hire.

But the use of the wireless network is growing and one solution to the problem is for the departments to make the most of what they have and it sounds like that is what some departments are trying to do. The Star Tribune offers a few examples…

By the end of the year, the city plans to install 50 Wi-Fi parking meters (one meter handles 10 parking spaces) downtown that will be able to accept and authenticate charge cards. Also this year, the city will use Wi-Fi to track the locations of 10 city garbage trucks to improve routing and about one-third of its salt and sanding trucks. The goal is to learn where the most salt is used, which can pinpoint spots where water is pooling on streets, Roth said.

As is the case with so many articles, there are also some gems in the comments. There are 80 comments that really run the gamut of options – including happy users and folks worried about where taxes are being spent.