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By Elaine Carpenter and Laura Efurd
San Francisco has an important opportunity to harness the benefits of wireless technology to improve the lives of its residents and businesses. By approving the proposed Wi-Fi contract with Earthlink and Google, the Board of Supervisors can bring anytime, anywhere communications to all San Franciscans and transform our city into a one of a kind Digital Community. What makes the Wi-Fi project all the more exciting is that it can be accomplished at no cost to taxpayers and without sacrificing City governance and operational controls. The Wi-Fi network, in combination with creative digital inclusion programs, will help the city meet important community goals:
A Digital Community
First and foremost, the Wi-Fi project will enable the city to offer free and affordable Internet access to all residents and businesses. Extending this technology to the underserved, who are more likely to be people of color, have low incomes and limited English speaking ability, is especially important. In many ways, the Digital Divide is merely a reflection of other underlying social inequalities. But it also has its own unique dynamics and consequences. As more and more of our daily routines are being conducted on the Internet, those off-line are not only unable to send emails to family and friends, surf the Net or seek entertainment, they are also excluded from opportunities to find a job, access important services and join the ranks of other media makers who are shaping the social, cultural and political future of our society. The project’s ability to support the city’s educational system may be one of the greatest long-term benefits to the people of San Francisco and the collective health of our city.
Simply creating a Wi-Fi network alone will not create a Digital Community. Beyond broadband access, underserved residents face other barriers to technology adoption: lack of computers, software, and technology skills. To close the Digital Divide and ensure that everyone has the chance to participate in the opportunities that are emerging in a networked society, we also need programs to address these barriers. The City recognizes this and so do Earthlink and Google. With help from a broadly based community task force, the City has created a comprehensive Digital Inclusion Strategy, which includes neighborhood programs for:
Computer ownership and basic training – to increase home access to computers;Enhanced digital Literacy – that enrich users’ experiences and enable them to move from novice to expert, and for some to become digital innovators and professionals;
Relevant On-Line Services – such as multi-lingual web portals, neighborhood web sites, and content development training;
The City will work collaboratively with community-based organizations, schools, businesses and social service agencies to implement these programs. Earthlink and Google will provide the on-going financial support needed to ensure their success.
An Innovation Platform
The Wi-Fi project will support innovation and business development, enabling private sector and social entrepreneurs to develop new mobile Internet applications and wireless devices. In the past decade, we have witnessed the evolution of the Internet from a set of tools to access and process information to a converged digital platform that fosters content creation, interactivity and social networking. The Wi-Fi project offers ubiquity and mobility – powerful attributes that will drive additional advances and experimentation. By creating an “innovations common” to serve as a resource for innovators from all walks of life, the city can continue to catalyze the nation’s creative and economic potential.
The Wi-Fi project will also extend the benefits of the Internet to small businesses. Just as their larger business counterparts have been doing for years, San Francisco’s small businesses will be able to use the power of the Internet to improve customer service, enhance productivity and increase their bottom lines.
Improving City Services
Local governments are constantly challenged to accomplish more with fewer resources. The Wi-Fi project offers a tremendous tool for improving the delivery of public services, especially in public safety applications. Consider, for example, the time saved if police officers can access centralized police information databases from the field rather than returning to the office. Less time in the office translates to more time on the streets where their presence is critical. Other mobile public workers – firefighters, inspectors and social service workers – can also benefit by being able to access centralized information remotely and to communicate in times of emergency.
More and more city services can be offered online. But often the people who need city services the most do not have the tools – Internet access and computers. Imagine their frustration when they’re told to file police reports on-line, use an on-line application process for city job openings, or make an on-line appointment at the motor vehicles department. For a low-wage earner on an hourly rate, the time wasted in lines at City Offices is all the more painful, at least economically. With the Wi-Fi project, the city can equitably offer new e-government programs that make it easier for everyone to learn about and access city services. It will let those who are “in line” get “online” instead.
The public private partnership between the City and Earthlink and Google is a key to the project’s success. The partnership leverages the ability of each entity to focus on its core strengths. Earthlink and Google are better equipped to keep up with the rapid technological changes occurring with wireless technologies, to monitor marketplace developments and to operate networks. The City, in turn, better understands public service delivery, digital inclusion programs and the importance of strong and effective governance.
It just makes sense to invest in the people in our community, to support innovation and to improve the delivery of public services. And to do this in a way that maximizes our chance of success and minimizes our financial risk and exposure. The Mayor and the community have worked together to create a project to achieve these goals. It is time for the Board of Supervisors to approve the contract with Earthlink and Google and allow free Wi-Fi to move forward.
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Elaine Carpenter is a policy and communications consultant who is working to expand technology opportunities in California. She has more than 25 years of experience in communications policy and has served as Chief of Staff at the United States Telecom Association and as VP of Communications and Public Policy for a mid-sized telecom company.
Laura Efurd is the Chief Community Investment Officer at the Community Technology Foundation of California. Previously, she served as Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison in the Clinton Administration. She also has more than a decade of policy experience in the U.S. Congress.
Note: Articles are posted for the purpose of generating ideas and honest debate on how San Francisco can live up to its full promise and potential. Posting of an article does not imply an endorsement by the author of Gavin Newsom for Mayor, nor an endorsement by Gavin Newsom for Mayor of the positions set forth in the article.
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July 9th, 2007 at 9:34 am
With the government “family jewels” , psy-op warfare exposed, people should wake up and reject free/forced WI-FI, STOP NOW. Do we want to entrust our airwaves to the Military Industrial owned Media Corporatists? What did “family jewels” reveal about brain transmitters implanted by government on AMERICANS? What about the manipulation of emotion and feeling, generated by particular frequencies? Are there any responsible scientific minded citizens in SF that could help with my concerns? Why the hell would I trust these corporate institutions to safegaurd my family and community. I don’t and neither should any San Franciscan, in my humble opinion.
July 10th, 2007 at 5:56 am
i’m a little concerned as well that regardless of the up-sides; all this WI-FI stuff is just a way to aid government surveillance, so until it is more secure or something, i will continue to have my reservations about it - www.likroper.com
July 12th, 2007 at 10:57 am
This isn’t a plan to “create a digital community,”
it’s just more PR blather from our mostly innefectual mayor and his rich friends at Google. This giveaway would create a slow, sub-standard wireless network that wouldn’t be of much use to most of us. There are lots of reasons to have a city-wide wireless utility, but there are also lots of better ones than the Google/Earthlink boondoggle.
July 16th, 2007 at 10:14 am
Article on Wi-fi safety and children in UK
http://education.independent.co.uk/news/article2771019.ece
Wi-Fi backlash: Councils urge caution on networks in schools
Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors issue call for embargo in response to parents’ concerns over children’s exposure to radiation in the classroom
By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor
Published: 15 July 2007
Local councillors are pressing for the suspension of the use of Wi-Fi in schools, in the first official revolt in Britain against the widespread use of the technology in the classroom.
The powerful overview and scrutiny committee (OSC) of Haringey council in London resolved this month that there should be “a precautionary approach” to Wi-Fi because of concerns about risks to the health of children and teachers.
With cross-party agreement, it recommended that no new Wi-Fi systems be installed and that existing ones should be discontinued pending “full consultation with parents and staff”. The recommendation was last week welcomed as “excellent news” by the Professional Association of Teachers, which believes the “proliferation” of networks in schools “could be having serious implications for the health of some staff and pupils”.
In a separate development, Camarthenshire County Council’s education and children’s scrutiny committee called on its officers to draw up “a good practice guide” on how the technology should be used in schools.
The councils’ moves follow a call by Sir William Stewart, chairman of the Health Protection Agency, for a review of the use of Wi-Fi in the classroom. His concerns about possible damage to health from the radiation it emits were first reported by The Independent on Sunday in April and later followed up by the BBC’s Panorama.
July 16th, 2007 at 10:23 am
Public Television should do more than sell wi-fi, it should investigate and educate around the issue. Last night (7/16) on KQED channel 10, there was a program that presented wi-fi as a done deal and better than sliced bread for San Franciscans. Ridiculous blatant propaganda, “BRAINWASHING” people by framing the issue to the will of corporations and their crony politicians. It is another example of abusive, controlling media and why we should not entrust them with our health and safety.
July 17th, 2007 at 9:03 am
Allison_ed2@yahoo.com has a good point, so is anyone listening? - www.likroper.com
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Children being used as ‘guinea pigs’ in mass Wi-Fi experiment, warn teachers
The use of wireless computer networks in classrooms should be immediately suspended until an inquiry has fully investigated the health threat to millions of pupils, a teachers’ chief urged yesterday.
Philip Parkin, the General Secretary of the Professional Association of Teachers, said that children were effectively acting as guinea pigs because the risk posed by ‘wi-fi’ networks had not yet been thoroughly considered.
He said scientific evidence prompted him to question the safety of the systems already introduced in 15,000 schools across the UK.
For the rest of the article go to: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_article_id=472357&in_page_id=1965
Will anyone scientific in San Francisco please step up and explore this issue please… we must b e prudent.
August 6th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
Looks like Meraki is doing and end run around Gavins’ plans. They may completely cover the city with Wi-Fi before the city even moves.
http://sf.meraki.net/
http://sf.meraki.net/overview
August 6th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
I support free public wi-fi in San Francisco; however, is anyone concerned about the potential risk of instating a permanent and prevalent network of electromagnetic waves throughout our city? Researchers have been warning against the harm of cell phone, laptop and wi-fi signals for years. Now recent studies reveal that these early warnings were perhaps valid. http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/58354/
I’m not saying this is a reason to revoke the wi-fi plan, but is the city taking this long-term health concern into account?
August 24th, 2007 at 11:33 am
re: Jennifer Lee
Sorry to say, but San Franciso has many thousands of Wi-Fi nodes and Wi-Fi enabled computers all emitting radio frequency electromagnetic waves. Not to mention cell phones, microwave ovens, automobiles, FM radio, television, etc. EM radiation is already “permanent and prevalent” in every major city in the world. I’d suggest you find a nice secluded rural farm and move there. Land is cheap in Iowa, I hear.
September 8th, 2007 at 9:19 am
Whew, heard the news that wi-fi is on hold! What a relief, hopefully wiser heads will prevail in the long run. I am less concerned with elite noodle-heads wasting money than I am with the safety and security of people who live in SF. Beaming the city with Wi-fi is technologically inefficient… Even the Main Library can’t keep a consistant signal for wi-fi using a local base station. The hot spots in town are spotty; don’t try to download. Wi-fi as a benefit for the poor was bull. The poor don’t have adequate computers.
September 8th, 2007 at 9:22 am
Thank goodness wi-fi is down. May wiser heads prevail in the future.