Since the sign is just metal, it could serve as the antenna. Bury the transmitter beneath the ground, there you could also hook it up to the power grid (unless you use the sign's surface to act as a solar panel). I would like to see vandals mess with that.
However, it ain't cheap and simple to implement, I agree with that. In countries like Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Canada and Australia they probably have the means to outfit their cities since they have the wealth to do it, but the rural areas would be a real challenge since they are so sparsely populated even when the money is there. In contrast to when these countries pioneered the implementation of the Internet, there's nothing like the phone network to piggy back this time.
However, it ain't cheap and simple to implement, I agree with that. In countries like Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Canada and Australia they probably have the means to outfit their cities since they have the wealth to do it, but the rural areas would be a real challenge since they are so sparsely populated even when the money is there. In contrast to when these countries pioneered the implementation of the Internet, there's nothing like the phone network to piggy back this time.