Google and Earthlink to Provide Free, Citywide Wireless Access for San Francisco
February 26th, 2006 - Posted in VoIPThe city of San Francisco has received a bid from Google and Earthlink to provide a free, citywide wireless network. The proposal was one of six from vendors and non-profits such as Communication Bridge Global, MetroFi, NextWLAN, Razortooth Communications LLP, and SF Metro Connect. The Google/Earthlink partnership should receive serious consideration since Earthlink recently won a contract to provide internet access to Philadelphia and because this is Google’s second such bid. Philadelphia and Anaheim, CA already provide widespread wireless coverage but San Francisco will be the first major US city to offer the service free of charge.
Under the proposal, Google will provide wireless access for a 47 square mile area that encompasses the entire metropolitan area. The connection speed would be at only 300 kilobits per second which would leave the door open for Earthlink to charge approximately $20 for a higher speed access of 1 megabit per second. Although Google has stated that they are unsure of how or whether the service will be monetized, a usage fee charged by Earthlink would relieve some of the $15 million that it will cost to build and maintain the network for 10 years.
Although the issue has gone somewhat unexamined, a universal wireless network will certainly impact the future of Internet telephony and indeed broaden the possibility of free telephony. However, free telephony over IP will require a faster connection than the initial 300 kilobits per second. VoIP pundit Andy Abramson has predicted that peer-to-peer and IM-based VoIP services will gain more ubiquity. Mr. Abramson also commented on the potential for widespread use of mobile VoIP service: “The real benefit will come when dual mode handsets that work on both cellular networks and via WiFi start to proliferate. A company like BridgePort Networks is well poised to support Earthlink and Google to make this possible as they already have the software and the relationships with the IP players and the cellular/mobile carriers.”
The projected effect that such an implementation will have upon the major telecoms is another issue of controversy. “The major telecoms are seeing their user base erode from all sides-cable, mobile and now IP wireless,” Mr. Abramson states, “Their gameplan is to bring inexpensive fiber to the home (FTTP) but that’s a long way off and more easily established in new communities. For urban areas the only two plays are citywide WiFi and WiMax.”
San Francisco’s example may generate the momentum to influence the adoption of similar blanket wireless coverage in other US cities. Jeff Kagan, a telecom industry analyst concludes: “I think after it is done well, city after city will want to have a similar setup. Some downtown customers may use it as their main source of telecom, but I think most will use it as virtual connectivity outside of what they use at home.”