S.F. stalling Wi-Fi plans, Google executive charges

An executive for Google Inc. says San Francisco's plan to offer free wireless Internet access to residents is being delayed by a slow-moving city bureaucracy five months after the company won a high-profile contract for the project alongside partner EarthLink Inc.

In an interview with The Chronicle, Chris Sacca, who leads Google's special projects, voiced frustration with what he called the city's slow negotiating style. Sacca said that talks to come up with a final contract have advanced little since they started and that officials have made unreasonable demands, including a request for free computers and a share in revenues.

"Every meeting is like the first," he said.

Sacca's criticisms are the first by Google about the city's oversight. Initially, officials said the wireless Internet network would be built by the end of the year, but the city now says the service will be delayed at least until 2007.

Ron Vinson, chief administrator for San Francisco's technology department, declined to address Google's complaints other than to say that "the city is pleased where the negotiations are heading, and we look forward to concluding this process."

He added that "we want to make sure that we are getting the best deal for the city, and we're working diligently to do just that."

The idea of free Internet access throughout the city was first championed by Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is a friend of Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

San Francisco chose Google and EarthLink's joint bid from among six bids to blanket the city with so-called Wi-Fi as part of a plan to provide Internet access to nearly all the city's residents. Virtually anyone with a Wi-Fi-enabled computer would be able to get online, whether at home, in a park or at work.

Google would offer free Internet access at speeds faster than dial-up, though slower than broadband. The company hopes to use the service, subsidized at least in part by online advertising, to test new products for wireless Internet users.

EarthLink, an Internet service provider, would own the Wi-Fi network and be responsible for maintenance. The company plans to offer users a faster connection than Google for a fee to be determined.

Newsom's goal for the Wi-Fi project is to boost San Francisco's credentials as a technology-savvy city and to help give Internet access to even the city's poorest residents.

The initiative has gained worldwide attention, not only because of its ambition but because of Google's celebrity. Many other U.S. cities have since started their own Wi-Fi initiatives, including a project to cover a broad swath of Silicon Valley.

That Google is growing impatient about San Francisco's Wi-Fi negotiations reflects the company's roots in the technology industry, where intense competition often drives companies to make decisions in days or weeks, rather than months. City bureaucracy, with all its deliberations and politics, isn't something Google executives are used to.

Sacca's complaints appear to be aimed at pressuring the city to speed up negotiations. He denied that Google has any plans to pull out of the project.

Negotiating the Wi-Fi contract for San Francisco is a team that includes the city attorney, two staff members with the city's technology department and an outside consultant.

On the other side of the table are representatives from EarthLink, which declined to comment for this article. Google plays a more minor role because it is considered a tenant on EarthLink's network and therefore doesn't attend all the talks.

Weekly summaries of the negotiations posted online by the city show that the discussions have included such subjects as user privacy protections, Google providing e-mail support for users -- not telephone support -- and whether the contract should run for six or 10 years.

Sacca said that many of the issues discussed were already outlined in his company's joint bid proposal with EarthLink and that going over them again is unnecessary. The city's "tide of requests" for a share of revenues from the project and free computers for its digital divide programs also are slowing the negotiations, he said.

Sacca insisted that sharing proceeds could jeopardize EarthLink's profits, if any, and could be a disincentive for that company to even install the costly equipment. He doubted that Google would make a profit from advertising.

Ultimately, Sacca said, the Wi-Fi network could be obsolete before it is built if the delays continue.

Sacca contrasted negotiations with San Francisco with similar talks in Mountain View, where Google recently introduced a free citywide Wi-Fi network. It took 2 1/2 months to approve a contract in Mountain View.

The contract in San Francisco is only the first hurdle. After that, the project will be reviewed by the Board of Supervisors and an undetermined number of city commissions.

To win some support for its project, Google will hold 11 meetings in San Francisco over the next few months -- one in every supervisor's district -- to explain Wi-Fi to the community.

Vinson, from the city's technology department, said he supports the sessions, the first of which is scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 3 at the Ocean Avenue Presbyterian Church, at 32 Ocean Ave.