Acknowledgements

I'd like to take this space and opportunity to thank the individuals, companies, and organizations who have provided active support for this exciting endeavor, which stands as tangible proof of the real spirit of cooperation among the leaders in this new industry and a desire to have metropolitan broadband networks take off and realize their significant potential.

First up are the city leaders in general, the pioneers of the group who were the inspiration for this site, and the rest, to whom I direct the site as a resource. In particular, all the city government officials I met at the various conferences and direct city visits I made in 2005 had a great impact on me. Pioneers like Dianah Neff (Philadelphia, PA), Brad Mayer (Chaska, MN), and Leonard Scott (Corpus Christi, TX) and Bill Hill (Dayton, OH) in particular have demonstrated leadership and a cooperative, giving spirit to other cities interested in what they have learned - that is nothing short of inspiring to me in my efforts to spread the word about these great new technologies.

I want to thank all of you out there on-line who have contributed time and advice, and all those who spend their time every day helping to educate municipal network planners and to promote metropolitan broadband technologies through your own websites and activities. Standouts in this field are Paul Butcher at Intel, Jim Welch at Motorola, Sam Churchill (www.DailyWireless.org Esme Vos, MuniWireless.com; Ron Sege, Tropos Networks; Greg Richardson, Civitium; and Mike Wolleben, WiMAX.com. Their special support and encouragement have taught me valuable lessons in 2005 and I count them as friends as well as business colleagues and fellow travelers.

This acknowledgement list would not be complete without thanking my new friend Steve Zilko, an Austin-area web designer who pulled my original website www.UnwireMyCity.com together and has worked wonders with me in preparing the launch of this new site. He consistently produces excellent results at great rates in short order. I recommend him to anyone seeking quality web design work. Great Job, Steve!

Finally, I would like to thank you, dear reader, for the contributions I know you will make to ensure that this is a lively Web site that is current and timely, and reflects the best that this new industry has to offer.

Thanks a million! Let's make 2006 the Year of MetroNets!
John Cooper