Municipal wireless broadband: Lessons from San Francisco and Silicon Valley

In December 2005, the city of San Francisco issued a request for proposal (RFP) for a community wireless broadband network. This initiative received significant national and even international attention, largely because of San Francisco’s visibility in the high tech world, and the involvement of Google in the consortium selected to build and operate the network. However, the project died without any network being built. In the past year, several other US municipal wireless initiatives have floundered or died. This article analyzes municipal broadband through a case study of the San Francisco’s project, examines the reasons for its demise, and compares San Francisco’s approach with other models for municipal wireless adopted by nearby Silicon Valley communities. It concludes with lessons and unresolved issues from the San Francisco experience and neighboring projects relevant for other municipal broadband initiatives and for broadband community access in general.