You might recall my recent coverage of the September CTIA Wireless Association show, where former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt begged the wireless industry to weave together an interoperable nationwide public safety network.

Shortly thereafter, Pronto Networks announced it had signed up a slew of municipalities to connect into a common, nationwide broadband wireless network, in large part to serve public safety applications. (It so happens, Hundt was quoted in Pronto’s press release announcing the effort, which it calls the UniFi Digital Communities Grid. Coincidence? I think not! Reed sits on Pronto’s board of directors, according to the company’s Web site.)

Pronto, by the way, is in the business of offering operations support services (OSS), such as billing, settlement, security, provisioning and configuration, to public wireless LAN hot spot services. For the UniFi Grid effort, the company offers one free Network Services Controller to any municipality wishing to join.

The controller provides Wi-Fi access to the other networks connecting to the grid and supports 200 users. The controller is also the platform for the application services and OSS.

The service platform is the glue that binds together Wi-Fi (802.11), WiMAX (802.16), mesh topologies and public safety network infrastructures at the lower network layers, making all communications and services function in a common way across the local municipal networks the various cities choose to deploy.

At least 43 municipalities in California, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Texas are already signed on. Participating municipalities have agreed to give reciprocal access to all government workers from participating communities. Cities have the option to charge for access to generate additional revenue or can opt to allow visitors to roam for free on their network.

Pronto says it has committed to invest up to $15 million in products and services to connect up to 500 municipalities in the next 18 months. The company’s presentation materials indicate support for hierarchical control of emergency policies, connecting city and state public safety organizations to federal organizations such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology writer/editor in Silicon Valley.