Lately a number of cities are realizing that citywide Wi-Fi isn't magic pixie dust; it won't miraculously turn your city into an economic powerhouse, it has coverage issues and the projects do need to compete with incumbent 3G services and unsecured hotspots. Wi-Fi Networking News points to a piece at Governing.com that suggests the biggest benefits of Muni-Fi are being seen by city workers:

"Corpus Christi uses wireless connections to keep building inspectors, code enforcers, police, firefighters and EMTs hooked into the office while out in the field. Wi-Fi helps keep tabs on property such as water towers and vehicles. More telling than the current government applications, however, are the wild ideas bubbling up because the wireless Internet now makes them feasible."

The Corpus Christi network was originally built by Northrop Grumman for $23 million, with city workers being its focus. Earthlink recently struck a deal with the city to operate the network and offer 1Mbps symmetrical public Wi-Fi access for $20 a month.