RIVERSIDE - The city of Riverside's free wireless Internet service will be switched to a new network provider today, and residents who use the municipal Wi-Fi will need to make an adjustment.

Beginning at 8 a.m. Thursday, Wi-Fi operations will be managed by US Internet, which won a five-year contract with the city earlier this year.

AT&T has been the Wi-Fi carrier since May 2007. The company told the city last year that it no longer wished to maintain the network because of costs.

The transition to US Internet will require Wi-Fi users to change the service set identifier -- or SSID -- on their computers from ATTMETROFREE Advertisement

[ Berry-Bell and Hall Mortuary ] to SmartRiverside, according to city spokesman Austin Carter.

He said the switch-over should be seamless otherwise.

The Wi-Fi system covers portions of the 55-square-mile city, with some 20,000 people logging on daily.

The Wi-Fi architecture was built by the now-bankrupt MetroFi, a San Jose- based startup, in a partnership with Riverside and AT&T.

Carter said the city is seeking a federal grant to expand the network across all of Riverside.

The Wi-Fi system is split into two spectrums -- one for the public and one for public safety agencies. The latter can use a frequency to transmit real- time video signals from their patrol units to dispatchers and supervisors.