MediaG3 (MDGC)

[beachsideeddy2]

Here's a cheap source for Val to pick over. His $56 bankroll should pay for the bus ride out to have a look :

MetroFi promised to build the network at its own expense, hoping to fund the project by selling ads on its system. The privately held company said it spent between $2 million and $3 million on Portland's network, which launched late in 2006.

Technical problems plagued the project from the start, though, and residents found they were unable to reliably connect to the antennas -- especially indoors.

MetroFi shut the network down in June 2008 and liquidated its business later that year through a legal process similar to bankruptcy, leaving more than 600 antennas scattered around the city -- primarily downtown and in Southeast Portland.

Portland waited until the antennas were legally forfeit before setting plans to take them down. City crews have already removed about a dozen, according to city staffer Logan Kleier, and work crews will take down about 80 more on traffic signals and other city property over the next couple months.

Most of the antennas are on streetlights owned by Portland General Electric. Portland will hire contractors to remove those, according to Kleier.

MetroFi posted a $30,000 bond to cover the cost of antenna removal, but technical experts estimate it will cost more than twice that to take down all the antennas on utility poles.

Senior, Personal Telco's president, said he explored whether the antennas had any market value by tracking eBay sales. Most recently, he said, a batch of five similar antennas was selling for 99 cents online.