SF Citywide Wi-Fi Plan Utterly Collapses

My, it's wonderful to live in one of the most wired cities in America. No FiOS availability and now no public Wi-Fi either: San Francisco's citywide Wi-Fi plan collapsed completely yesterday, following Earthlink's announcement that it would cut half its workforce and shut down its SF offices.

It's yet another frustrating setback in a city notorious for political gridlock. (The biggest public issue today (now that Barry Bonds hit #756) is how to deal with a city supervisor who somehow got elected despite allegedly not actually living in the district he represents (or the city of San Francisco at all, for that matter).)

One philosophy is that this is a blessing in disguise: Saddling San Francisco up to a nag of a company like Earthlink might well have been disastrous. No one really thought Earthlink was capable of  building the network it promised, nor managing it once it was built, anyway. Earthlink's existing projects in Philadelphia and Anaheim, says SFGate, "have not produced expected profits." Chicago's similar plan was also canceled recently, and Houston's looks like it will get killed next.

What happens now? Mayor Gavin Newsom (pictured) says its back to the drawing board. In November voters will be able to vote whether they support free Internet access in the city, something which a) will pass absurdly easily and b) I would have thought was figured out years ago. You know, before the city got into bed with Earthlink in the first place.

Previously: Is Public Wi-Fi Heading Out to Pasture?