Is your internet connection at home being difficult? No sweat, you can soon run down and check your email on the nearest traffic light.

About 400 cities in the US and UK have deployed or are currently building municipal wireless internet connections which will see service providers using the city’s infrastructure to provide community wireless access, says a new report.

In the next five years, the spend on municipal wireless in the UK and US will reach $6.4 billion, as local governments and internet service providers recognise the benefits these networks offer, predicts the report.

Municipal wireless networks would offer several advantages - wireless internet access to mobile professionals, on the spot access to time sensitive information to police and fire department personnel, lower communication costs for government agencies and also enhanced reputations as progressive cities, says the study.

“The Future of Municipal Wireless- US & UK Spending Through 2012” finds that though the idea of municipal wireless is a fledgling one, it is likely to catch on like wildfire to display a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48% from $900 million in 2007 to $6.4 billion in 2012.

Authors of the report say that different cities have different goals in setting up such community internet systems. While some wish to expand internet access to disadvantaged citizens, others want to provide government workers with connectivity to internal systems at all times. Some cities believe municipal wireless will be an important factor in attracting new businesses to their communities.

Local Governments in some cities are also choosing to introduce surveillance solutions on their municipal wireless networks. This allows public safety agencies to monitor activity via streaming images from wireless cameras that are placed strategically in targeted areas of communities.

Analysts have noted that a public-private partnership between the Government and the Internet Service Providers is likely to work well, allowing each to focus on core competencies. Vendors are allowed to maintain and own the network, but use the city’s infrastructure, such as street lights and traffic signals, to mount the equipment. Such a partnership would provide citizens, businesses and public employees with low-cost – or even free – 24/7 internet connectivity while outdoors