The City of San Francisco Office of the Controller, Budget and Analysis Division issued an economic impact report which states that the proposed agreement between EarthLink and San Francisco will create a favorable economic impact to the city’s economy, saving residents between $9 and $18 million annually because of increased consumer choice.The San Francisco Office of the Controller concluded in its report:
“The proposed Wi-Fi Agreement between the City and EarthLink, Inc. creates a favorable economic impact to San Francisco’s economy, primarily by increasing the Internet service options available to City residents. We anticipate that current residential consumers of Internet services will save between $9 and $18 million annually, because of greater consumer choice, if the agreement is adopted. Significant numbers of San Francisco households who do not currently have Internet access will also use the Wi-Fi service, reducing the digital divide in the City and helping to incorporate low-income and disadvantaged populations into the economic mainstream.”
“The provider of the network will also gain from this provision, as it will be able to expand its scope
of client services and revenue sources. City government will also be favorably impacted since the agreement will enable the City to establish and run digital inclusion programs at no infrastructure
cost, and collect right-of-way and pole fees. Only other providers not seeking similar agreements
may be moderately adversely affected by this agreement; however, third party internet service
retailers may discover new business opportunities.”
Download the Controller’s report here.
Link doesn’t work
I tried the link today and it does work. If it’s still a problem, please post a comment.
The Controller uses a figure of $35 for DSL (vs 10-20) and assumes many people will drop their reliable wired connection which has not been the case in other muni wifi rollouts. Also DSL is 768 speed, the free wifi offered is only 300 speed. These assumptions result in wildly inaccurate savings estimates.