Wi-Fi Coming to SF; Google Bids.

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Author: Oder, Norman

Tech-savvy San Francisco is among several cities weighing the prospect of free municipal wireless Internet access, or Wi-Fi, and the search behemoth Google Inc.--which has quickly branched out into new businesses--has placed a bid. The city received more than a dozen offers, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.

Free basic service would be 300KB/second, which is five times faster than typical dial-up but slower than some broadband service. The proposal, according to the Chronicle, has led to speculation about whether Google intends to create a free national Wi-Fi network. Google officials said they had not determined whether to include ads in the proposed service.

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By Norman Oder