As some cities go out of their way to provide free wireless broadband, telecommunications operators should stop opposing government-sponsored municipal wireless access, a recent report from StrategyAnalytics argued. Instead of fretting about the upcoming wireless access plans, companies should instead realize the benefit and start focusing on how the moves will be implemented, the London-based research group concluded. Some U.S. cities, most notably Philadelphia, Chicago and San Francisco, have developed initiatives to provide affordable broadband for the citizens and businesses in their communities. Meanwhile, hundreds of smaller municipalities such as Dunedin, Fla., are also hoping to provide low- or no-cost broadband to all of their residents through fixed or wireless infrastructure. It`s a leap forward from the days of limited wireless access when open wireless hotspots would be rare enough to warrant being advertised by technology enthusiasts using chalk symbols on nearby walls in a practice known as "warchalking." Although warchalking never fully took off, its purpose was soon surpassed as more and more public spaces, including schools, airports, hotels and cafes, began introducing WiFi hotspots. The practice has now expanded to local governments wanting to bring the interconnected benefits of broadband to as many of their citizens and businesses as possible. But not everyone gets it, not least the incumbent broadband operators who have viewed the plans as a threat, leading to lost revenue and dependence on operators for broadband provision. In the United States, Verizon, Comcast and AT&T have all voiced their opposition to municipal wireless, putting pressure on local governments not to go ahead with their projects and, in some cases, succeeding. In January 2005 the state of Nebraska banned municipal broadband under such pressures. The move was dubbed by wireless observers at MuniWireless as "a temporary triumph of a tiny number of companies that represent a regulated monopoly over the vast majority of businesses and individuals." AT&T does seem to have reversed its stance somewhat and is now actively working with municipalities on their broadband projects, although this in turn has raised questions on how municipalities can cope with the organization`s market power.