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By Phil Ting
Assessor-Recorder, City and County of San Francisco
Lately, there has been a great deal of discussion in our local press and in the blogosphere about the emergence of signal sharing among wireless users in San Francisco.
As Chair of the Free WiFi for All campaign, which is Prop J on this November’s ballot, I have been following these conversations and stories with great interest.
As something of a tech geek and firm believer in open source, I agree that the proponents of signal sharing are on to something: without a doubt, the Internet should be freely and easily accessed by all San Franciscans.
But make no mistake: this informal system of “grassroots” signal sharing cannot and will not provide all San Franciscans with access to the Internet. The fact is, a “shared network” has no value if there’s no signal to share.
50% of low-income San Franciscans do not have access to either the signal or the hardware needed to access the Internet at home. The demographics and geography of these 30,000 residents should come as no surprise. They are disproportionately seniors, youth and non-English speakers, and are concentrated most heavily in our city’s southeast.
Simply put, San Francisco is a city divided by technology.
According to PC World, San Francisco is second only to New York among American cities for number of WiFi hotspots or zones.
This is a fact to be proud of. A fact that clearly illustrates San Francisco’s role as a technology leader and innovator. But just as clearly, it is a fact that illustrates our very real digital divide.
Of San Francisco’s 1,073 hotspots or zones listed by PCWorld.com, just five are in the southeast.
Hotzones and hotspots, community networks and signal sharing are all creative and promising ways to provide access to the Internet – for those with broadband and hardware already.
But to suggest that these innovations are enough to solve our digital divide is mistaken. We cannot just sit back and hope that the technology catches up with social and economic reality. We must refuse to accept the fact that 60,000 residents across the city do not have Internet access at home.
We must as a city – as a single community – create a free, wireless network citywide to connect all San Franciscans to the Internet.
The emergence of shared networks, created and promulgated by private enterprise makes clear one thing: The private sector knows what its doing when it comes to broadband technology and there is simply no need for a municipally built and operated broadband system.
There is a need, though, for City Hall to fulfill its obligation and responsibility to provide equal access to opportunity for all San Franciscans. And that means ensuring free, fast wireless access for all – now.
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Phil Ting is the Assessor-Recorder of the City and County of San Francisco.
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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October 2nd, 2007 at 1:48 pm
Thank you Phil for supporting the digiatl divide in SF underscoring Prop.J. We hope the entire voting population in San Francisco identify with Mayor Newsom goal of free internet access to everyone.
October 25th, 2007 at 10:55 am
Please are there any scientific minded geeks, Telsa associates who could respond to the following article from THE INDEPENDENT?
Germany warns citizens to avoid using Wi-Fi
Environment Ministry’s verdict on the health risks from wireless technology puts the British government to shame.
By Geoffrey Lean
Published: 09 September 2007
People should avoid using Wi-Fi wherever possible because of the risks it may pose to health, the German government has said.
Its surprise ruling – the most damning made by any government on the fast-growing technology – will shake the industry and British ministers, and vindicates the questions that The Independent on Sunday has been raising over the past four months.
And Germany’s official radiation protection body also advises its citizens to use landlines instead of mobile phones, and warns of “electrosmog” from a wide range of other everyday products, from baby monitors to electric blankets.
The German government’s ruling – which contrasts sharply with the unquestioning promotion of the technology by British officials – was made in response to a series of questions by Green members of the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament.
The Environment Ministry recommended that people should keep their exposure to radiation from Wi-Fi “as low as possible” by choosing “conventional wired connections”. It added that it is “actively informing people about possibilities for reducing personal exposure”.
Its actions will provide vital support for Sir William Stewart, Britain’s official health protection watchdog, who has produced two reports calling for caution in using mobile phones and who has also called for a review of the use of Wi-Fi in schools. His warnings have so far been ignored by ministers and even played down by the Health Protection Agency, which he chairs.
By contrast the agency’s German equivalent – the Federal Office for Radiation Protection – is leading the calls for caution.
Florian Emrich, for the office, says Wi-Fi should be avoided “because people receive exposures from many sources and because it is a new technology and all the research into its health effects has not yet been carried out”.
Please… be responsible.