t's now necessary to look at new models for access - both technological (the possibilities of Wimax, municipal investment possibilities in city-owned fiber networks for the long run) and structural (grassroots sharing networks and the role municipalities may be able to play in facilitating and funding pilot projects in low-access communities). While Media Alliance will remain agnostic regarding the Proposition J campaign in the City, we are excited by the movement in Oakland towards a real discussion and initiative and look forward to a community-rich dialogue with our fellow Oaklanders on meaningful access for all the residents of Oakland.




Of all the pieces written about the Google-Earthlink collapse in SF, this Chron piece seems closest to the perspective MA thinks would be most helpful going forward in the municipal wi-fi puzzle.

Sharing could use Community to Provide Free Wi-Fi

The recent collapse of San Francisco's plan to provide free Wi-Fi has spawned a new, community-based effort that could provide a model for other cities that have found themselves in the same situation. "This is a great opportunity to create a people-powered Wi-Fi sharing platofrm", said Joanna Rees, US Chief Executive of FON, a Wi-Fi provider that encourages users to share their wireless signal.

Two years ago, San Francisco emerged as a key component in pumping up the municipal Wi-Fi craze when it announced plans to deploy a city-wide network.

But when that effort failed last month, precipitated by the departure of vendor Earthlink, San Francisco joined a number of other cities - including Chicago, Houston and Anchorage - that are either canceling projects or putting them on hold after early setbacks.

Rees, based in San Francisco, said the demise of the city's Wi-Fi project may be an opportunity to create a new model that uses residents and business owners willing to share their Wi-Fi signal - at a fraction of the cost.

FON, a Spanish company, has given away thousands of free routers including hundreds last year during a promotion in SF's Union Square. The company counts more than 450,000 users worldwide who have plugged in the device and agreed to share their wireless signal with neighbors and visitors.

Bu connecting to the FON network, users can not only help create a larger system of Wi-Fi hotspots, they can easily use other FON networks around the world. The company makes its money by selling routers for $29 and $39 and by charging visitors a small fee for using the network.

Rees said Internet users are increasingly embracing the sharing model and appreciate the collective good that comes from opening up access. She said that the city can also get in on the sharing. FON is approaching San Francisco supervisors with a proposal to provide free routers in City buildings, FON said.

"We're in the sharing decade", Rees said. "Thats a pretty powerful network".

AnchorFree of Sunnyvale also is trying to create shared networks through business owners. The company has created five hot zones in San Francisco - on Fillmore Street, Castro Street, Union Street, Chestnut Street and in Union Square - by donating more than 200 routers to restaurants, cafes and small businesses, allowing them to create Wi-Fi corridors that customers can use.

AnchorFre continues to offer free wireless routers to business owners, not just in SF, and now plans to publicize its efforts more widely. The company makes its money by advertising on a small bar that appears on the screen.

"Companies are puling out of Muni Wi-Fi projects because the muni stuff is kind of like a big bureaucracy" said David Gorodyansky, president and co-founder of Anchor-Free. "We have come up with a way that locations can self-organize. It's a grassroots way for any location, anyone from a chain store to a coffee shop to set up Wi-Fi".

Companies like FON and AnchorFre said they provide a level of security to ensure users are safe while on their networks. FON, for example, uses encryption as well as a member log-on to prevent abuse. AnchorFree offers a virtual private network that allows users to create a secure connection.

On a smaller scale, a group called SF LAN is working to provide Wi-Fi service using a shared model. The organization has sold about 50 routers to customers, mostly in San Francisco, who agree to share their wireless with neighbors.

Ralf Muehlen, SFLAN founder, said the system is modest now, but could thrive is the city made its underground fiber available, creating a backbone for a community-based Wi-Fi system.

"If you look at the fiber the city already has, its not been used very well", Muehlen says. "the best approach would be layered, where the city worries about the fiber infrastructure and on top of that you could have non-profits and community service providers.

SF is also being used as a test bed for newer Wi-FI technology that could also make Wi-Fi more affordable and easier to deploy. Equipment-maker Meraki of MountainView has started an initiative in the city called Free the Net in which it has been giving out free wireless routers and repeaters that can blanket whole neighborhoods with Wi-Fi coverage. The company also pays for broadband at many access points, but relies on volunteers to help install the equipment in various neighborhoods.

Meraki's initiative is intended to demonstrate its so-called mesh technology, a low-cost approach in which a single router can work with multiple wireless repeaters to help extend wireless coverage.

Although Meraki does not have plans to take its free network to other cities, company officials said it shows how community groups and cities can set up wireless networks quickly and cheaply.

. "If the city's objective is to provide access to people, this is a perfect model", said Sean Gaddis, Meraki's director of marketing. "We see this as a new choice for muni-wireless".

Wi-Fi consultant Craig Settles, who has helped a number of cities craft their Wi-Fi initiatives, said a city would do well to consider working with grassroots program to help meet its wireless needs. That was one of the problems San Francisco faced earlier, said Settles, when it narrowly focused on one option without considering what alternatives were available.

"I think grassroots options have viability, because people can benefit from that", said Settles. "What has to happen is that they have to be incorporated into the conversation".

SF Mayor Gavin Newsom's spokesman Nathan Ballard said the city is committed to re-igniting its Wi-Fi efforts and has learned a lot from its first goround. He said the city will be convening a working group that will look at all options for crafting a wireless plan that meet its goals.

'We are hungry for new creative ideas at this point", Ballard said. "We are open to all kinds of options about bringing free Wi-Fi to San Francisco". Courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle - Ryan Kim.