Cringley's article was about using net modems that worked over a pair of wires. Dry copper means there is no active (or passive) power to the line. It would be as if you just strung 20000 feet of cable and attached the modems to it. I'm going to check it out in my area and if it is feasible I'm going to go ahead and build a couple of these connections. As far as wireless goes, it almost doesn't seem worth it unless you're in a high density area that is underserved. Not too many of these exist. When you factor in the price of the equipment for the customer side (802.11b pc card and antenna at least $300) you need to think twice. If cable modem or dsl is your competitor there isn't this charge. Still the idea is really cool and once I get my tower up in my yard, I'm going to give it a try. Mike