San Fran WiFi Plan Down the Pan?

Following yesterday's report that Chicago is to pull the plug on its grandiose urban WiFi scheme, it has emerged that US internet service provider Earthlink has decided to pull out of its deal to help provide free wireless internet access throughout the San Francisco area.

However, despite the draw-back, the City's mayor, Gavin Newsom, remains committed to the idea. According to a statement from the mayor's office, he is still very much behind the free WiFi plan and stressed that it will happen in the City.

Earthlink, which is based in Atlanta, recently announced plans to cut costs by slashing half of its workforce of around 1,800 people and closing its offices in four cities, including San Francisco. The company is said to be pulling out of the WiFi sector.

Last year Earthlink and Google were selected from seven possible contractors who handed in bids to create the citywide wireless network in San Francisco. However, the agreement was never finalized due to a long-running political disagreement between the mayor and the City's governing Board of Supervisors.

The cost to Earthlink of building the network had been estimated at between US$14 million and US$17 million. The plan was that search engine company Google would sell adverts on the service to raise funds, while Earthlink would charge premium users US$21.95 a month for a faster service.  For the moment, it appears Google is still committed to the project, though it seems that the City will now look for new partners.