Dear Councilman, My Wi-Fi Is Down...

Wireless Internet access (Wi-Fi) is a growing means by which people communicate and transact business. But should it be a municipal utility? And is there a way to provide it for free to all of the city's residents?

In San Francisco, the answer could soon be "yes" and "yes." According to recent Reuters and Information Week articles, the city has selected a joint bid by Google and Earthlink to provide free, advertising-driven, wireless internet access across the city. Consumers and business who want faster service, or who would rather not be subjected to the ads, can pay for premium service.

Turning San Francisco into a giant wireless hotspot will entail some technical challenges, such as how to deal with all the hills, valleys and tall buildings. There are bound to be some dead spots among the hotspots.

***Mike Arvizu, long-time Mass Comm 101 Supplemental Instruction leader and El Vaquero staffer, has created a a student newspaper blog. I applaud the effort.

***Audioblogger is acting weird again. My audio post (which I recorded twice) isn't posting. I will add it when it shows up.

***Wednesday, 1:30 p.m.: The audio post finally showed up. Yea!