San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Board Supervisor Aaron Peskin are shaking hands and coming out fighting for muni wireless in a proposal that will go before voters in November. The proposal buries hatchets but does it really bring muni wireless there any closer to reality?San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Board Supervisor Aaron Peskin are shaking hands and coming out fighting for muni wireless in a proposal that will go before voters in November. But, other than burying hatchets, is this really likely to achieve anything?
The proposal makes no mention of the contract negotiated with Earthlink and Google earlier this year and coming, as it will, in November the vote will follow the meeting of EarthLink’s board of directors and yet another quarterly earnings report that is sure to further reinforce the business case for muni deployments. Whether EarthLink will even be a player in a SF seems up for grabs at this point.
The ballot proposal may erase the political objections to the SF deployment. In taking the issue to the ballot, Newsom is addressing one of the key objections to the contract he negotiated with Earthlink and Google–that he acted single-handedly. The fact that he makes the move with Peskin indicates that the mayor has resolves at least some of his political issues with the Board of Supervisors. And the provisions for the ballot, outlined in the Declaration of Policy accompanying it, address key objections, such as privacy, that have been raised against the EarthLink/Google contract. (The declaration is reprinted below).
So far, so good. But wishing doesn’t make a muni network so.
Assuming that the proposal gains voter approval in November (it certainly should. What’s not for voters to like?), it offers no realistic roadmap for getting the job done. In fact, provision No. 4. is likely to send private partners running and screaming from the room.
The City should initially provide the Wi-Fi Network through a public-private partnership that utilizes expertise of the high technology sector and minimizes financial risk to the City.
Granted, the words “initially” and “minimizes financial risk to the City” leave a lot of room for interpretation. But, on the face of the declaration, it sounds like the city wants a sugar daddy to bear the up-front risks of a build-out and then turn the network over to the city after all the problems are worked out. That’s not how private enterprise works.
You have to wonder what news Newsom and Peskin have been reading. Did reports of EarthLink’s earnings call last month not reach them? The “gimme” days of muni deployments are over. In fact, it’s debatable they ever existed anywhere other than in the minds of politicians who are fond of promising voters something for nothing.
I’m probably not going too far out on a limb in predicting the San Francisco ballot measure will pass. The challenge will be finding a private partner willing to work within its parameters.
The joint proposal appears below: Click here to read what the Wall Street Journal says about it. (Subscription required.) Click here for a report on it in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Declaration of policy supporting a wireless broadband network that provides free high-speed Internet access for all San Franciscans and protects user privacy.
It is the policy of the People of the City and County of San Francisco that:
(1) The City should provide a wireless broadband Internet access network (“Wi-Fi Network”) serving all parts of San Francisco equally;
(2) The Wi-Fi Network should provide free Internet access for all of the City’s residents, businesses, institutions, and visitors;
(3) The Wi-Fi Network’s free service should operate at a high speed that fully supports typical home, educational and civic uses of the Internet;
(4) The City should initially provide the Wi-Fi Network through a public-private partnership that utilizes expertise of the high technology sector and minimizes financial risk to the City;
(5) The City should ensure that any private entities with which it contracts to provide Wi-Fi service adhere to privacy policies that offer strong safeguards against the unauthorized sharing of personal information with third parties and against the unnecessary retention of information about Wi-Fi users’ locations; and
(6) The City should approve all agreements necessary for providing a City-wide Wi-Fi Network and should implement such agreements as quickly as possible consistent with applicable law.
(7) Private entities negotiating with the City and County should consider in good faith adopting the strongest privacy safeguards against the unauthorized sharing of personal information with third parties and against the unnecessary retention of information about Wi-Fi users’ locations, adopting clear service standards for Wi-Fi users prior to finalization of a contract with the City and County, and adopting a reasonable term of contract that avoids a franchise relationship between private entity and the City and County and is beneficial to both parties.
The following factors support the need for a citywide free Wi-Fi Network in San Francisco:
¬? As technology and telecommunications have advanced, the Internet has become a key tool that individuals use to communicate, access information, and improve their standard of living and quality of life. Broadband Internet access provides individuals efficient access to this life-changing technology.
¬? Since 2001, the United States has fallen from fourth to fifteenth in the world in the number of broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants.
¬? Highly skilled jobs have been exported to countries that have exploited advances in technology and telecommunications.
¬? These trends, if allowed to continue, will inevitably lead to higher unemployment, loss of competitiveness, and less consumer choice for City residents.
¬¨? According to a recent survey conducted by the City Controller, approximately twenty percent of San Francisco residents lack any Internet and computer access at home, resulting in a “Digital Divide” between households with Internet access and those without such access. San Francisco’s non-white population is substantially less likely to have home computers and Internet access than the City’s white population. Studies further show that limited English-speaking and disabled populations are much less likely to use the Internet and own home computers.
¬? Lack of computer access, knowledge and skills create a roadblock to obtaining a good education, a better paying job, and a higher standard of living. Free Wi-Fi service can play a significant role in erasing the Digital Divide and fostering Digital inclusion.
¬? Increasing broadband Internet access will foster community development, economic development, and government efficiency, and will better equip San Franciscans to compete in the global economy.
¬? The City can further foster Digital Inclusion through Wi-Fi access combined with expanding programs that offer free or low-cost computers, training, and specialized content for those now lacking Internet access.
¬¨? A City-wide Wi-Fi Network will ensure that all parts of San Francisco are equally served, not just the scattered “hot spots” that now offer Wi-Fi Service.
SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ELECTIONS BY:
Gavin Newsom, Mayor
Supervisor Aaron Peskin
Related posts:
- Update: Newsom fights for San Francisco-Earthlink plan
- San Francisco wants free citywide Wi-Fi
- San Francisco shopping district becomes a Wi-Fi hotzone
Loading ...
