The NY Times has published an interesting article about the current state and possible future of Wi-Fi. There is a brief summary of the current technologies (standard stuff -- directional beams, mesh networks, Wi-Fi "hot spots"), and an outline of companies that have gotten behind one or another form of the technology. The article briefly describes Project Rainbow, for instance, which is a venture headed by Intel, IBM and AT&T, and aims to create a wireless network across the nation (InfoWorld's July coverage of the project is here).
Check out the article here.