Free Wi-Fi Spurs Fiber Optic Debate

Friday, January 26, 2007

By Lyanne Melendez

Jan. 26 - KGO -- Are you ready for Wi-Fi in the city? Google and Earthlink are expected to deliver Wi-Fi service to the entire city of San Francisco, that's if the Board of Supervisors approves the deal. As with everything, there are Wi-Fi nay-sayers who are pushing fiber optics instead.

San Francisco should soon have Wi-Fi service anywhere and everywhere.

Supervisor Tom Ammiano is not impressed.

Tom Ammiano, San Francisco Supervisor: "Fiber is the future."

Fiber optics versus Wi-Fi was up for discussion today before a board committee.

Bruce Wolfe doesn't like the current Wi-Fi deal the city is expected to have with Google and Earthlink.

Bruce Wolfe, San Francisco People's Organization: "Fiber is so much faster, the capacity, the stability, the ability to build it out and long lasting, it's going to be with us for decades "

Let's compare both. Wi-Fi would cost the city nothing. Google will make its money through advertisements, Earthlink by promoting their $22 dollar per month upgrade to get the fastest available service. Fiber would cost the city millions.

Chris Vein, City Dept. of Telecommunications: "Five hundred and sixty-million to $800 million dollars is one set of ranges, and then in terms of the time, it could be five, 10, 15, 20 years to actually lay all of that fiber"

ABC7's Lyanne Melendez: "Would taxpayers have to foot the bill?"

Chris Vein: "Potentially."

Thirty-five miles of fiber have already been laid underground for government use only and none for home use. Wi-Fi is slower and has limitations.

Tom Merritt, CNet.com: "The purpose is not meant to be put around large geographical areas like cities. It's really meant for homes or small businesses, or even larger businesses like CNet here. You can use Wi-Fi in it, but it's not meant to blanket large areas."

The city may end up with both.

Chris Vein: "And focusing on getting Wi-Fi up right now and helping people who need it the most and then focusing on developing a strategy for long-term fiber deployment, whatever that may look like."

The Wi-Fi project will have to be approved by the Board of Supervisors and the Public Utilities Commission. Once they give the green light, Earthlink partnered with Google, will begin building out the network as early as this year.

Get more News »