Google-EarthLink selected for Wi-Fi project

[rspassey]

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Google Inc.'s bid to blanket San Francisco with a free wireless Internet service cleared a major hurdle Wednesday when a city panel identified the search leader and EarthLink Inc. as the best candidates for the ambitious project....

Wow, I heard rumors about this happening, but this certainly sounds like an interesting venture (especially for Google). I wonder how they are going to manage all that, and keep the network safe?

[786ARS]

isp's in sanfrancisco not going to be happy...

[rspassey]

Well, it mentioned that the speeds of the free service aren't going to be that fast - so many will still pay for service as long as they get faster speeds.

[David M]

It's not free. People's taxes are going to pay for it. I wonder just how fast it is going to be in a city of over 1 million people connected to the same service.

[doctorgonzo]

Originally Posted by David M It's not free. People's taxes are going to pay for it. I wonder just how fast it is going to be in a city of over 1 million people connected to the same service.

Actually, from the article it looks like Earthlink would charge $20 a month, while Google's free version would be paid for not by taxes but with ads, like the old free dial-up services. Earthlink's proposal would be 5 times faster than Google's.

[David M]

Twenty bucks would be a good deal even if it is only one meg/sec.

[doctorgonzo]

Originally Posted by David M Twenty bucks would be a good deal even if it is only one meg/sec.

Very true. $20 a month is comparable to many dialup plans and much cheaper than DSL or cable.