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Google Plans to Offer Free WiFi in San Francisco

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the google-google-everywhere dept.

jacksonwest writes "What's been rumored for some time has now been confirmed -- Google has made a bid in response to Mayor Gavin Newsom's request for information. The details of the bid include citywide access, for free, at 300kbps. The plans dovetail into their location-based advertising and services strategy, and come on the heels of their recent VPN service rollout."

4 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. There's No Such Thing As A Free Lunch by slavemowgli · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And what does "location-based advertising and services" mean in reality? Free wifi is good, of course, but TNSTAAFL. Can I rely on my traffic not being inspected/recorded by anyone with this offer?

    --
    quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur.
  2. Re:How Long by loconet · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The same thing is said every time Google releases a new service and I have yet to see a serious abuse from them.

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    [alk]
  3. Re:They're in for it now by scenestar · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Telecom companies managed to stop MUNICIPAL wifi.

    With google being a company there is no "tax payer's money" involved.

    The only thing the Telecom companies can do is sue google for "dumping" their products.

    --
    perpetually dwelling in the -1 pits
  4. Re:tremble moneymakers by LordKaT · · Score: 4, Insightful
    What's the angle? Have you not been keeping track of what exactly Google is?

    Google is, first and foremost, an advertising company. They are going to offer "service and location based" advertising with the free Wi-Fi.

    This is just another service built on top of their advertising network.

    Almost everything Google does is built on top of their advertising network.

    What's in it for Google? A few million people being forced to see the Google Ads.

    That's not a bad thing, in my opinion. A few ads for 300kbs wireless Internet connectivity in the United States? Sign me up.

    Keep in mind that this is not like NetZero:

    NetZero was trying to build an ISP out of Ad revenue. Google is trying to enhance their advertising network by offering an ISP.

    The ISP side of Google can simply be a loss leader in order to obtain a wider understanding of their audience. Hey, it adds a ton value to AdWords, which means they can charge a premium for that service over Yahoo! or MSN, and still remain a dominant force in that market.

    If they roll this out nation-wide, this is going to make Google a ton of money.