InformationWeek | Municipal Wi-Fi | Google, EarthLink Move Closer To Free Wi-Fi In San Francisco | April 6, 2006 My guess, this is never going to happen. You watch how it gets sidelined.
In beating five competitors for a key committee endorsement, Google Inc. and Earthlink Inc. have cleared the first hurdle in their joint bid to build a free Wi-Fi network across San Francisco.
Wednesday night’s approval by the city’s TechConnect Committee moved the Google-Earthlink team, which also includes Motorola and Tropos Networks, considerably closer to building the network that will blanket the city. Before construction can begin, however, the winners have to negotiate a contract with the city and then get it approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
In getting the committee’s endorsement, Google and partners beat bids from MetroFi Inc., Razortooth Communications LLP, NextWLAN Corp., Communications Bridge Global Inc. and SF Metro Connect, a nonprofit backed by IBM and Cisco Systems Inc. MetroFi, which has built citywide Wi-Fi networks in several Silicon Valley cities, came the closest to beating the winners, the San Francisco Chronicle said.
I wonder why Google doesn’t build a free WiMAX network instead..
I wonder what John C Dvorak think about WiMAX? Supposedly there is a mobile WiMAX technology, which Seoul and Vienna are getting within the next couple of months..
big providers aint going to let this happen. hell we might catch up with rest of the world.
Charbax I agree with you that Wimax is a better option, however “they” are still fighting over which Wimax. I think this is a test by Google that they will ramp up worldwide once a standard on Wimax has been more or less settled on. Look for lots of Tel/Cableco blocks to Wimax standardization. The ISPers will probably say something about public safety and how Wimax will promote porn… hey throw some child stalking stuff in there too!