Skip to main content

San Francisco, Earthlink Ink Wi-Fi Deal

Following a long period of negotiation and debate, the city of San Francisco has inked a deal with Internet service provider Earthlink to provide universal, affordable Wi-Fi Internet access for the city. The deal is one of the most high-profile metropolitan Wi-Fi efforts—and, although unnamed in the agreement, Google apparently has a hand in operating aspects of the service.

The deal calls for Earthlink to build a test network with an area of up to two square miles, the design and operation of which must be approved before the city-wide effort can proceed. Once operational, Earthlink must sell access to the network on a non-discriminatory basis; Earthlink will be required to support network roaming, but individual ISPs in the Bay Area will have to figure out how they will (or won’t) support users from the SF network to roam on to their networks.

Recommended Videos

The plan sets up Basic and Premium services; Basic service will be a symmetrical 300 kbps and available for free with user registration. The service bandwidth must increase every year to 15 percent of the "best selling wireless broadband product," if that speed works out to be faster than 300 kbps. A Premium service is also defined at 1 Mbps of symmetrical bandwidth, although no pricing is outlined, and a Digital Inclusion service will enable the city to offer access to 3,200 people at $12.95 per month. Occasional Use and Roaming access are mentioned and undefined.

The terms of the agreement call for Earthlink to pay a five percent franchise fee to the city for access to rights of way—a franchise fee may mark a first for metropolitan Wi-Fi agreements, which have usually charged pole fees or other charges for access to city infrastructure. Earthlink will pay San Francisco $600,000 in advance against right-of-way fees.

Although unnamed in the agreement, unless something radical has changed the free Basic plan will be provided by Internet giant Google, which currently operates access points in a Wi-Fi network in Mountain View. Google has planned to proffer advertising with the Basic service, targeted to individual users based on their personal information. Although the San Francisco agreement mandates personal information cannot be shared with other parties without an opt-in process, its not clear what personal information Google and/or Earthlink will require of users on its Basic service, and how the information will be safeguarded.

Earthlink has 180 days to back out of the deal; once a certain point in deployment has been reached, the agreement will run for four years, with two four-year renewals possible if the parties can agree to any changes.

Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
The Kindle Paperwhite just got a rare discount for Presidents’ Day
An Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2024 on a table.

Amazon rolled out several Kindle deals for Presidents' Day, including this gem: the ad-supported Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2024 at 16% off, bringing it down to a more affordable $135 from the e-reader's original price of $160. The $25 in savings may not look like much, but you still wouldn't want to miss it because a discount for this device rarely happens. The offer will only be available for a limited time though, with stocks possibly running out even before the holiday arrives, so hurry with your purchase if you want to take advantage of this bargain.

Why you should buy the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2024
The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2024 received an impressive 4.5 stars out of 5 stars in our review, catapulting it to the top of our list of the best Kindles. The first thing that you'll notice about the e-reader is its sharp and high-contrast e-ink screen that makes reading extremely comfortable to the eyes, especially since it also has glare-free properties. The 7-inch display also has adjustable warmth that you can customize depending on the time of day, and since the device is ultra-thin and waterproof, you can bring it with you wherever you go.

Read more
Tired of downloading terrible apps? This Google Play Store update will help
A person holding an Android phone while on a bike. The display shows the Google Play Store.

The Google Play Store has an estimated 3.3 million apps available, but they most certainly are not all created equal. Some are no longer updated, some don't work the way they're meant to, and others are just plain terrible — but a new update to the Play Store could make finding the diamonds in the rough much easier.

This update is already live for some users, but it's still rolling out to others. When browsing the Play Store, warnings will appear just below the app information and provide a high-level overview of its performance. For example, it might warn that an app is frequently uninstalled, or the app might not get as much engagement compared to others, according to Android Authority.

Read more
TikTok returns to Apple, Google app stores in U.S.
TikTok logo on an iPhone.

The TikTok saga continues. Apple reinstated the popular app to the App Store on Thursday evening, and a short while later Google followed suit and put it back on the Play Store. The move came after Attorney General Pam Bondi reportedly sent a letter to the tech giants assuring them that they will not face any penalties in relation to a law that banned the app in the U.S. last month.

Both Apple and Google removed TikTok from their respective U.S. app stores on January 18, the day before the law banning the app went into effect. Then, on January 20, newly elected President Trump signed an executive order granting TikTok a 75-day reprieve from the ban to give his administration “an opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward.”

Read more