GOOGLE A VICTIM OF EARTHLINK WOES WITH CANCELLATION OF SF WI-FI
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Verne Kopytoff]
The collapse of Mayor Gavin Newsom's ambitious plan to bring free wireless
Internet access to San Francisco dealt a blow to Google Inc., which had hoped
to use the system to test an array of new products. Google, the Internet giant,
had championed the plan, and the company's celebrity had helped spark a
nationwide frenzy of similar projects. But now the future of municipal wireless
Internet access is in doubt, not only in San Francisco, but across the country.
Google's downfall in San Francisco was the result of financial troubles by its
partner EarthLink, the company chosen by the city to build the network. That
Google was interested in municipal wireless Internet access, known as Wi-Fi,
shocked many when the company submitted its initial bid two years ago to offer
free connections to San Franciscans. Did Google want to create a national Wi-Fi
Internet network? Did the company have aspirations to become an Internet
service provider, taking on industry giants AT&T and Comcast? Google denied the
speculation and said it merely wanted to use the San Francisco network as a
testing ground for new products for mobile phones, including online advertising
that would be tailored to the location of users. Other than setting up a
wireless Internet network for its hometown, Mountain View, Google hasn't bid on
other municipal Wi-Fi projects.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/30/BUT6RSDTU.DTL
* Wi-Fi? No Thanks
S.F. citywide service plan fizzles as provider backs off
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/08/30/MNEJRRO70.DTL&type=tech
* Municipal Wi-Fi faces financial hurdles (Associated Press)
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/nation/story/3689493p-13094814c.html
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