Google wants to build San Francisco WiFi network

We already more or less knew that Google wanted to get deep into the WiFi game, now Om Malik is confirming that they've made a bid to blanket the city of San Francisco in free 300Kbps WiFi. Doesn't mean that they'll actually be building out a network, since San Francisco still has to accept their bid, but if they do win the contract Google says that they plan to offer wholesale access to other ISPs (who would be able to offer faster speeds to their subscribers) and that they'll be testing some of those location based services everyone expects them to roll out (like geotargeted advertising, we presume). And do we even need to mention that citywide WiFi (potentially) means citywide WiFi phones?

[Gil @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

so this is going to be a free access WiFi network? (free at the low speed of 300Kbps)

It's going to put ISPs out of bussiness

[Conrad Quilty-Harper @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I'd like to see what form of wifi they'll be creating. 802.11b/g coverage would be patchy at best unless they buy a dozen truck loads worth of wifi hotspots.

[aleandro @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

300kbp is not my small it will help u get to engadget...plus if they are letting other give faster speed its cool

[adam b. @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I was just about to email you guys the article from the SF Chronicle about this. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/01/MNGG9F16KG1.DTL&hw=google+wi+fi&sn=001&sc=1000

[Gil @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

It's "small". Ha! My cable connection is 256kbps (MAX! half the time it's 128kbps)

[GMack @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Oakland County, Michigan will have their free WiFi up and running by the end of this year. They have already run large scale testing during the year and it has been a sucess.

Also, my cousin owns a computer development company and has already done work on location tracking to target ads to those using the free WiFi, so expect it everywhere else. If they are giving it to you for free, somebody is paying for it. And most tax payers wouldn't be cool with footing the bill for services they probably won't use. (Remember, we readers of engadget are not the norm, though some act as if they don't know that.)

[Pete Nice @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I don't know why they don't just snatch up some WiMax spectrum and put all that dark fiber to use... Seriously, a WiMax would be about the biggest slap in the traditional business model face that Google could build. Not only could they attack the cellular, isp and telcos, but they could theoretically shape the idea of communication in the future as we know it. Soon after building the network, WiMax/GPS equiped laptops would allow instand Location based searches via Google Earth... If I need to find a pizza at 2am and I'm traveling to some new town, just open up the lappy or pda, type Pizza in the google search engine and I get real time access w/ maps to the Pizza places around me with their phone numbers, menu and even reviews. No need for me to know the zip codes or even what area of town I'm in.

I can't think how many times I've rolled over in some strange bed, not knowing where I was, and wanted a pizza, but had no means to find the closest place to fill my craving. This would solve my problem.

[Cashmore @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

Wow...this story just gets more and more interesting.

[Geoff @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I guess I'm the only one troubled by this, seems Google has successfully pulled the wool over a lot of people's eyes. They are an advertisting company - how many of you want an advertisting company not only having full logs of all your searches, emails, VOIP calls, IM chats, but now also every last thing you do in the Internet?

If this were any other company, people would be throwing a fit over security issues. Google isn't setting up this WiFi network out of the goodness of their hearts...

[sk @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

GMack, the whole WiFi network in Oakland County is supposed to be available in late 06 not 05. But several legislators oppose the network and want it buried before it can go life.
Check out this website: http://www.co.oakland.mi.us/wireless

[IcemanMN @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

I would much rather have Google running this than Time Warner cable (charges whatever the market will bear) or any POTS phone company (still mired in copper wire and mid-20th-century bureaucracy). And don't even get me started about the possibility of "no DUN or Skype on OUR phones" Verizon running a metro-wide service like this. And then there's Yahoo "that's not spyware, that's a feature!".

Google is a breath of fresh air. If you can't dig it, don't use it.

[Elias @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

The 384Kbps idea doesn't sound bad, especially for something free. As long as it's not dial-up speeds, 384Kbps is sufficient enough to check your e-mail and read a few blogs.

-- Elias

[DG Lewis @ Dec 19th 2005 12:20AM]

#7: I can think of any number of reasons why Google doesn't "snatch up some WiMAX spectrum": 1, The WCS spectrum is held by Cingular (which is 60% owned by SBC, who some might say would be not eager to see significant competition for internet access in San Francisco) and XM (which just spent about $13M to buy it (along with a bunch of other licenses), and is therefore unlikely to be looking to sell it); 2, the BRS spectrum is held by Sprint, who might be willing to lease it, but who is likely to be more interested in using it for its own network; 3, and probably most importantly, you can't get a "WiMAX-equipped laptop", and won't even be able to get a WiMAX PC card until Christmas 2007 if you go by Intel's roadmap (which is, if anything, optimistic).