At a function organised by the New Zealand Health IT Cluster in Dunedin last week, Cr Cull compared developing a free wireless network to the roading system.
Cr Cull, who chairs the Dunedin City Council's digital strategy steering group, said building a digital infrastructure was similar to the early days of road construction, with many of the benefits as yet unknown in a field which was rapidly developing.
Speaking later, Cr Cull said he understood the set-up cost of a wireless network across the city would be less than $1 million.
The operating costs could be as low as $20,000 a month.
As more portable digital devices were developed, uses for such a network would increase.
He has already suggested developing a system to allow visitors with iPhones to access information about paintings as they walked around the Dunedin Public Art Gallery using the wireless network in the central city.
Increasing the wireless coverage in the central city, as well as considering the opportunity for partnership with current wireless providers to achieve a single service across the city, is among suggested projects in the draft of the Dunedin digital strategy, which was released for public consultation this month.
Part of this project would be assessing how a free service could be provided.
The New Zealand Health IT Cluster includes software producers, health consultants and those involved with health policy, health services and academic institutions.
Its function in Dunedin, attended by about 40 people, was arranged to celebrate the involvement of Dunedin organisations and welcome companies which had recently joined the cluster.
Cluster chief executive, former Dunedin resident Dougal McKechnie, said the Dunedin City Council had been instrumental in supporting those involved with health information technology and he praised its "active and forward-thinking approach".
• Submissions on the council's draft digital strategy can be made from today until July 16.
