another intersting bit about SF wifi... you'll notice that the city and Google are holding outreach meetings in many different city neighborhoods - one of the recommendations of the TechConnect Digital Inclusion Task Force headed by SF city staffer Emy Tseng
------------- http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/10/04/ BAGJQLHVHV1.DTL&hw=wireless&sn=001&sc=1000 SAN FRANCISCO Wi-Fi plan gets first hearing Google, Earthlink try to allay fears over free wireless Internet access Verne Kopytoff, Chronicle Staff Writer Wednesday, October 4, 2006 Google and EarthLink got a mixed reaction Tuesday night from San Francisco residents who attended a public meeting to hear about their plans to blanket the city with free wireless Internet access. Representatives from the Internet giants tried to put to rest concerns swirling around the project about user privacy, security and private ownership of the so-called Wi-Fi network. The meeting, at the Ocean Avenue Presbyterian Church in San Francisco's Excelsior neighborhood, was the first in a series of 11 such gatherings that Google and EarthLink are holding as part of an effort to build public support for their joint project, which has gained intense interest across the globe. The ambitious initiative, championed by Mayor Gavin Newsom, is intended to help bridge the digital divide among low-income residents and make the city a technology leader. As part of the plan, Google would offer free Wi-Fi service at speeds faster than dial-up, but slower than broadband. EarthLink, which would own the network, plans to offer faster connections to users who pay a monthly subscription of around $20. But the project is moving slowly. The two companies have been negotiating a contract with a city panel for five months, a process that a Google executive recently described as bogged down by government bureaucracy. No Wi-Fi service is expected until at least 2007. Tuesday's meeting drew only about 20 people who asked questions touching on many of the hot-button issues. The response was invariably that the city's residents would greatly benefit from the project, which would allow anyone with a Wi-Fi-enabled computer or device to get online. The Google-EarthLink team plans to hold the community meetings over the next two months, one in every city supervisor's district. At Tuesday's meeting, Google and EarthLink officials stressed the convenience of Wi-Fi and potential bonuses, such as allowing police officers to more quickly get information in the field. Some residents have voiced concerns about Google's free service requiring users to log in and the company then displaying ads based on where a user is located. Chris Sacca, who leads special projects for Google, denied any plans for excessive intrusions and added that "we have built our network so that we know very little about the user." He explained the necessity of users logging in as a way to prevent automated "bots" from gaining access to the network, and he recommended that users who are still concerned about privacy create new accounts each time they use the service. John Gilmore, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit group that follows privacy issues, and who attended the forum, voiced skepticism about Sacca's response and said the log-in is really an attempt by Google "to force you to look at their ads and landing page." More meetings to come Google and EarthLink held the first of 11 community forums Tuesday night about their proposal to blanket San Francisco with wireless Internet access. Here's a list of coming meetings, all to start at 6 p.m.: Today: Southeast Community Facility Commission, 1800 Oakdale Ave. Oct. 17: Eugene Friend-SOMA Recreation Center, 270 Sixth St. Oct. 19: Chinese Recreation Center, 1199 Mason St. Oct. 30: Sunset Recreation Center, 2201 Lawton St. Nov. 2: Palega Recreation Center, 500 Felton St. Nov. 14: Ella Hill Hutch Community Center, 1050 McAllister St. Nov. 15: Helen Wills Clubhouse, Broadway and Larkin Street Dec. 4: City Forest Lodge, 254 Laguna Honda Blvd. Dec. 6: Richmond Recreation Center, 251 18th Ave. Dec. 7: Glen Park Recreation Center, 70 Elk St. Source: Google, EarthLink --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ TELECOM-CITIES Current searchable archives (Feb. 1, 2006 to present) at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Old searchble archives at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
