"Google Inc has offered to blanket San Francisco with free wireless Internet access at no cost to the city, placing a marquee name behind Mayor Gavin Newsom's effort to get all residents online whether they are at home, in a park or in a cafe," reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
"The offer by the popular Mountain View search engine was one of more than a dozen competing bids received by the city before its deadline Friday. Officials will review the submissions and decide which, if any, of the candidates gets the green light to build the so called Wi-Fi service, which would be free or inexpensive for users."
Comment: Later, the story says: "San Francisco is a notoriously difficult city for blanket Wi-Fi coverage because of its hills, valleys and tall buildings. To ensure a good signal, Google would install up to 30 small Wi-Fi antennas per square mile." This gives some idea how expensive it would be to provide Wi-Fi in more than a handful of cities... and makes you wonder whether it's worth it, given the arrival of WiMax.
