The city of Santa Clara is offering free outdoor Wi-Fi to all residents and visitors, becoming the first city in the country to do so.

Silicon Valley Power upgraded their electric meters to include wireless technology allowing them to provide citywide free Wi-Fi access.

"This is just one of the major benefits our community will enjoy as a result of our advanced metering technology," said SVP director John Roukema in a statement. "Now our resident, visitors and local workforce can get internet access while waiting for a train, shopping downtown, getting their car washed or relaxing in their yard."

Users can log onto the network simply using the SSID "SVPMeterConnectWiFi," with no password log-in key required.

Cities around the U.S. have been systematically replaced electric meters, house by house, with high tech ones, that eliminates the need for a manual check of meter readers every month however has raised concerns of health effects, privacy and cost.

Sascha Meinrath, director of the Washington, D.C.-based Open Technology Institute, said using meters is a "real Faustian bargain," smart technology use requiring "privacy protections that are second to none."

"If they do privacy right, residents have nothing to do but rejoice," he said. "If they don't, you could see some serious malfeasance down the road."

Google has recently launched a free public Wi-Fi in the Chelsea neighborhood, where the company's New York headquarters is located.

"Being online is no longer the luxury that we once considered it to be. It's essential. Society at large requires an internet connection," said Zach Leverenz, CEO of Connect2Compete, a national organization which joined with the FCC last week to roll out a nationwide initiative called "Everyone On."

The initiative aims to bring free digital literacy training, affordable Internet service and low-cost computers to the 100 million people nationwide who do not have Internet access at home.