Free wireless Internet ending in Naperville, Aurora

Free wireless Internet access in parts of Naperville and Aurora will come to an end later this month.

Officials say they've been unable to strike a cost-effective deal with the current vendor, California-based MetroFi, Inc.

Aurora will continue to pursue a new vendor for the service, but Naperville doesn't plan to do so at this time.

The cities had been testing a program with MetroFi providing wireless service to downtown Naperville and about 20 percent of Aurora.

A 2006 agreement with the company called for it to eventually offer the service citywide. MetroFi planned to make money by selling banner ads to local businesses and offering premium ad-free service to paying customers.

But in January, the cities announced the company had backed out of that deal and instead planned to charge at least $3.5 million each to complete the network.

"Now it's going to cost us a lot of money to implement, and in the current budget situation it's not feasible to provide that service," said Nadja Lalvani, Naperville community relations manager.

For the past six months, the free service has remained intact while city officials explored the option of purchasing the existing wireless network and paying MetroFi maintenance fees, but that also proved to be too expensive.

MetroFi will discontinue its service in Naperville on June 20. Aurora still is working out an exact date with the company but also expects it to be shut off later this month, according to Ted Beck, chief technology officer.

While Naperville doesn't currently plan to pursue a new vendor, Aurora officials say they will release a Request for Information later this month to find out what other providers are available.

Beck said the goal is still to make free wireless Internet available citywide. He said he appreciates the patience of residents throughout the process of making that happen.

"The mayor is still passionate about providing service for the residents," Beck said. "We just need to find a partner that financially can accomplish that goal."

In the meantime, Web surfers looking for free Internet access can head to area businesses that offer their own WiFi hotspots to customers.

Aurora and Naperville also are pursuing a deal with Sprint to bring the company's new WiMax high-speed broadband service into their cities, but customers would have to pay for Internet access.