City to consider non-profit-run Wi-Fi as alternative to EarthLink-Google plan

By Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service

San Francisco is going to kick the tires of an alternative to the citywide Wi-Fi plan from EarthLink and Google. Free IT resource

The budget analyst of the City and County of San Francisco agreed on Monday to study to financial feasibility of a wireless network paid for and owned by the city. The agency expects to finish its report by December, a representative said at a meeting Monday of the Board of Supervisors' Government Audit and Oversight Committee.

The city's Wi-Fi plan and the process of developing it has come under fire from several quarters, not least from some members of the Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Jake McGoldrick formally requested the feasibility study after criticizing the way in which the administration of Mayor Gavin Newsom settled on the EarthLink-Google plan. It calls for a network to be built at no cost to the city and owned by the two service providers.

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