offer free Internet throughout SF Reply-To: dewayne@warpspeed.com Wireless access for all? Google plan would offer free Internet throughout SF - Verne Kopytoff and Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writers Friday, September 30, 2005 Google Inc. has proposed to blanket San Francisco with free wireless Internet access, placing a marquee name behind Mayor Gavin Newsom's effort to get all residents online whether they are at home, in a park or in a cafe. The offer by the Mountain View search engine was one of many competing bids received by the city before its deadline Friday. Officials will now review the submissions and make a decision about which, if any, of the candidates get the green light for so-called Wi- Fi service. In joining the competition, Google is showing yet another sign of its boundless ambition. In the past few months, the company has released a succession of new products including instant messaging and telephone service that take it further from its search engine roots. The proposal furthers existing speculation that Google intends to create a free national Wi-Fi network. If so, it could pose a serious challenge to existing Internet service providers, such as SBC-Yahoo, Earthlink, Comcast and America Online, which charge subscriptions for wire connections. "This is a great opportunity to provide a community service to the Bay Area," said Chris Sacca, who oversaw Google's wireless Internet bid in San Francisco. "This furthers the goal of providing access to all residents and visitors on as wide a scale as possible." Mayor Newsom unveiled a goal of a free, city-wide Wi-Fi network last year as part of his state of the city address. Since then, officials have been weighing how to carry out despite a tight budget, finally asking for proposals from over the summer. As part of its proposal, Google said it could do the job without charge to either the city or residents. Google is a neophyte in wireless Internet access. It's experience is limited to tests at a gym and cafe near its headquarters and at Bryant Park, in New York City. Separately, Google sponsors free Wi-Fi service in San Francisco's Union Square in conjunction with a local start-up, Feeva. Competitors who submitted responses to the city's request for comments said Google's proposal is not entirely surprising. But they questioned the company's ability to follow through on its plans. Donald Berryman, EVP and president of municipal networks for Earthlink, questioned if Google had the know-how to be an Internet service provider. He said providing the deal for free is also not sustainable in the long run. "We've looked into free service and we haven't found a model where free works," said Berryman. "At some point free becomes less sustainable because there's no way to upgrade service and the networks when no one's paying for it." Chuck Haas, CEO of MetroFi, which runs two wi-fi networks in Cupertino and Santa Clara, wondered if Google would be meet the city's goals for coverage. But he said the idea of free service is not entirely far-fetched. He said his company submitted a proposal in which wireless broadband would be free across San Francisco but would be paid for with ads and would have no technical support or services for users. For $19.99 a month, subscribers would get enhanced service with no ads and customer support. "I believe we'll have enough people that want full security and customer support with no ads that we could make money," Haas said. "But no matter who the city chooses, I don't think the city will have to pay for this network." SBC spokesman John Britton said his company encourages competition, but feels that governments should seek greater investment from private companies to increase broadband service. He said in San Francisco's case, the city is already served by SBC and enjoys more than 400 free wi-fi hotspots, more than any other in the country. "We feel there is already widespread broadband available today," Britton said. Vince Vasquez, a policy fellow with the Pacific Research Institute, which receives funding from SBC, said there has never been a company willing to volunteer this kind of a network. But even if it's free, it might represent too much involvement by the city in a sector that should left to private industries, he said. "Our concern is with public money and publicly controlled internet access," said Vasquez. "We take a lot of caution about how government should intervene in the market." URL: <http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/01/ GOOGLE.TMP> Weblog at: http://weblog.warpspeed.com ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as eugen@leitl.org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/ ----- End forwarded message ----- -- Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> ______________________________________________________________ ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820 http://www.leitl.org 8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A 7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE [demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type application/pgp-signature which had a name of signature.asc]