A Portland street light is seen with a small wireless internet transmitter poking from the top. Credit: CBS 13

The city of Portland is installing wireless internet transmitters on light poles throughout the city.

It’s part of the Smart Cities initiative — an $8 million program designed to make Portland more technologically savvy.

Right now free Wi-Fi is offered in several areas downtown and if it gets a lot of use the city will expand the Wi-Fi availability.

“We’re actually a little behind. Some cities have been more aggressive on this,” Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling said. “It’s been a real priority of the City Council and we’ve been pushing this for a number of years, so very exciting.”

As part of the program, many street lights in the city have been replaced with LED lights to save on energy costs.

Follow BDN Portland on Facebook for the latest news from Greater Portland.