Legislative Analyst report basically says the EarthLink deal sinks and the city should start over to look at all options.
See PDF http://www.sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/budanalyst/Reports/WiFi/MunicipalWiFiReport_011107.pdf Or http://tinyurl.com/yhysne Two News articles below (scroll down) http://tinyurl.com/yacw2r or http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/12/BAGNQNHJSE1.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea SAN FRANCISCO Supervisors worry plan for Wi-Fi misses mark Analyst doubts city will benefit from privately run service - Charlie Goodyear, Chronicle Staff Writer <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Friday, January 12, 2007 The Board of Supervisors budget analyst raised doubts Thursday about the benefits of a plan to let EarthLink and Google run a wireless Internet access system in San Francisco, saying the city could fall short of meeting its goal of providing all residents with advanced, reliable service. Analyst Harvey Rose reviewed the plan in response to suggestions from some supervisors that the city itself should run a municipal Wi-Fi network rather than allow private companies to use the public right of way for profit. "We own the utility poles. We own the streets," said Supervisor Jake McGoldrick, a leading critic of the EarthLink-Google proposal. "Giving it away is just not a good business model for the city." Last week, Mayor Gavin Newsom announced an agreement with EarthLink and Google as part of his vision for bringing Internet service to low-income city residents. Under the agreement, Mountain View-based Google would provide free service at the relatively slow rate of 300 kilobytes per second. EarthLink would pay the city about $2 million during the initial four-year term of the contract to own the network and would offer a faster, 1 megabyte-per-second service for $21.95 per month. Chris Vein, head of the city's Department of Telecommunications and Information Services, said building such a large wireless network is unprecedented and risky -- all the more reason for private companies to take on the job. "This is a technology that was never intended for the use that we're putting it to," he said Thursday. "There is a lot of technology risk. It's tough to make this thing work." The deal, which took months to hammer out, could be further delayed as it requires approval from supervisors and other city officials. And according to Rose, an EarthLink-owned network won't be up and running for at least two years. The time that would take raises questions about whether the system would become obsolete, the report noted. For instance, an emerging wireless technology called WiMAX promises faster Internet connection speeds and coverage over a wider area. Many intending to use the EarthLink-Google network would need a piece of hardware known as a Customer Premise Equipment device, which strengthens the outgoing signal of a user's computer to allow it to connect to the wireless system. Rose estimates the cost of the device at between $80 and $200. Of the free service, McGoldrick said, "It is a very slow system that very few people would want to use." The budget analyst also raised concerns about privacy protections for users, a lack of competition from other wireless companies on an EarthLink-run network, and perhaps a disincentive for private companies to keep pace with technology by spending to upgrade any such network in San Francisco. A city-run system would not be without risks either, as Rose noted in his report, saying, "The city would likely face competition from private interests and also risk a wireless network's obsolescence due to technological change in the future." Supervisor Tom Ammiano acknowledged the hurdles for the city to create its own system, not the least of which is a less than cooperative working relationship between the board and Newsom. "If the political will is there, it can be done," he said. "That would take a marriage of supervisors and the mayor. The bride could be jilted, but there's still a chance." Newsom spokesman Peter Ragone said criticism of the proposed free service doesn't take into account its main benefit -- bridging the "digital divide" that has so far excluded lower-income residents from participating in the Internet revolution. "There is a stark choice here," he said. "Are we going to continue to allow the digital divide to be perpetuated, or are we going to tackle that problem in a thoughtful and incredibly innovative way?" McGoldrick said he believes it would take between $6 million and $10 million in startup costs for the city to install hundreds of devices needed to create a wireless Internet system. But as a municipality, the city would not face pressure to make a profit off the system, although advertising revenues could make that a possibility. Instead, San Francisco could focus on offering the best service possible at the lowest price. "All we need to do is break even," McGoldrick said. Budget analyst Rose is expected to complete another report in the coming weeks on the proposed contract with the EarthLink-Google team. In the meantime, McGoldrick expects he and fellow supervisors will be busy conducting their own review, saying, "I think what we need to do is have quite a few hearings." Chronicle staff writer Verne Kopytoff contributed to this report. E-mail Charlie Goodyear at [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------- This one buries the lead about questions concerning the EarthLink deal.-kimo SAN FRANCISCO - A city report suggests there may be an alternative to Mayor Gavin Newsom's high-profile agreement to provide free wireless Internet access throughout San Francisco and questions its promise of closing the "digital divide." http://tinyurl.com/y8bge2 http://www.examiner.com/a-504864~City_owned_Wi_Fi_costly__but_gives_S_F__control__report_finds.html City-owned Wi-Fi costly, but gives S.F. control, report finds A recent study suggests that the city of San Francisco may be able to provide wireless Internet access that would serve city residents well. <javascript:popUpWinPP('ShowPhoto.cfm?filename=/images/newsroom/15D03893-3048-2F0A-CA919514ED3E8760.jpg&caption=A recent study suggests that the city of San Francisco may be able to provide wireless Internet access that would serve city residents well.','pp')> (Examiner file photo) A recent study suggests that the city of San Francisco may be able to provide wireless Internet access that would serve city residents well. Printer Friendly <http://www.examiner.com/printa-504864~City-owned_Wi-Fi_costly,_but_gives_S.F._control,_report_finds.html> | PDF <http://www.examiner.com/articlePDF.cfm?articleID=504864> | Email <http://www.examiner.com/ArticleEmail.cfm?articleID=504864> | digg <http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&title=City%2Downed%20Wi%2DFi%20costly%2C%20but%20gives%20S%2EF%2E%20control%2C%20report%20finds&url=http://www.examiner.com/a-504864%7ECity_owned_Wi_Fi_costly__but_gives_S_F__control__report_finds.html> Joshua Sabatini, The Examiner Read more by Joshua Sabatini <http://www.examiner.com/Topic-By_Joshua_Sabatini.html> Jan 12, 2007 3:00 AM (4 hrs ago) Current rank: # 23 of 14,630 articles SAN FRANCISCO - A city report suggests there may be an alternative to Mayor Gavin Newsom's high-profile agreement to provide free wireless Internet access throughout San Francisco and questions its promise of closing the "digital divide." Last Friday, Newsom announced that an agreement was reached with Earthlink and Google to blanket The City's 49 square miles in a free wireless Internet, or Wi-Fi, network, at no cost to The City. The report says San Francisco could spend between $6 million and $10 million to build its own network and pay $2 million a year to maintain it. Although seemingly costly, the report says it gives The City the most control over the use of the network. "The City would likely face competition from private interests and risk a wireless network obsolescence due to technological change in the future," the report said. Under the four-year contract with Earthlink and Google, Earthlink would spend the estimated $15 million to build the network. Google would use the network to offer a free Wi-Fi service that would allow people to surf the Web at eight times the speed of dial-up. To help recoup its costs, Google would sell advertisements. Earthlink will provide wireless service at three times faster than the free service for a charge of $21.95 per month. As part of the agreement, Earthlink will pay The City $600,000 for right-of-way access and $40,000 annually to be able to use the light poles to mount equipment needed to build the wireless network. The City would also receive 5 percent of the gross revenue from subscribers, which is expected to generate about $300,000 annually. Supervisor Jake McGoldrick, who requested the report, said a municipally owned Wi-Fi network might better serve residents. The City may be able to provide better Internet service since "all we need to do is break even. We don't need to make a profit," McGoldrick said. "Doing it municipally was something that was considered and is clearly not the right path to go down," Newsom's spokesman, Peter Ragone, said. The report also brought into question the promise of the Earthlink and Google agreement to close the so-called "digital divide" because of the "relatively slow throughput [Internet] speeds and connection equipment costs for users." Many users of the network would have to purchase such equipment, which costs between $80 and $200, to pick up the Wi-Fi signal, according to the report. Chris Vein, director of The City's technology office, who helped negotiate the deal, said the free-service speed is adequate for all the basic uses of the Internet, such as e-mail and surfing the Web, and said revenue coming in from the agreement could help pay for the equipment needs of some users. "By any objective standards, the plan that we have presented to the public is going to do more faster to close the digital divide than any other municipality in the country," Ragone said. The Board of Supervisors must approve the deal and could vote on the contract as early as February, but that seems unlikely. "I would anticipate many committee hearings," McGoldrick said. -- NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/ Un/Subscribe: http://lists.nycwireless.net/mailman/listinfo/nycwireless/ Archives: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/
