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Cell phone communication near downtown Minneapolis jammed within moments of the bridge collapse. Rescuers and law enforcement officers sprung into action but needed street maps, ongoing traffic information and a way to monitor the site. The resulting communications demands put the city of Minneapolis' fledgling wireless network to the test. Within an hour of the disaster, the head of USI Wireless, the company responsible for the network, opened the system to free access and got an effort going to install additional access points around the bridge site that weren't already covered. The number of wireless users in that part of the city jumped six fold overnight. The city-wide wi-fi network isn't scheduled to be finished until the end of the year. The downtown area was the first to be built.

Minneapolis information officer Lynn Willinbring says this is not how she would choose to test the system's effectiveness, but is pleased with how it worked out.

Craig Settles, a consultant with Successful.com and author of Fighting the Good Fight for Municipal Wireless, also praised the city's response. He said this was the first major test anywhere of a municipal wireless system during a crisis.