Google has teamed up with Wireless Facilities in San Diego, to provide wireless internet services to San Francisco.


Google has teamed up with Wireless Facilities, a builder of wireless networks in San Diego, to provide wireless Internet services throughout the city of San Francisco.

Eric DeMarco, President and CEO of WFI, has said in a Press Release, “The growing municipal wireless market is a strategic focus for WFI. As a result of our experience designing and deploying both Wi-Fi and cellular and PCS networks, we believe we are very well positioned to aid local governments in the deployment of their wireless networks and we expect this market to play an increasingly important role in our business in the future”.

Wireless Facilities and Google are among about two dozen bidders for the project of providing wireless Internet access to nearly all 750,000 residents of San Francisco.

Kathryn Balint, Union Tribute Staff Writer of Signon Sandiego has reported, “How Google and Wireless Facilities teamed up was not disclosed”.

Kathryn has quoted Michael Baehr, the spokesman for Wireless Facilities, who has said, “We don’t want to talk about the nature of the relationship or how it came to be. It’s extremely sensitive”.

According to the San Diego local news report, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has said the city wants to create an attractive environment for businesses as well as to help economically disadvantaged residents get online.

According to Ellyn F. Cutler, an associate analyst with Avondale Partners, the proposal is noteworthy because it is the only one of the bids to offer wireless Internet access at no cost to the city of San Francisco.

Google has agreed to maintain the network, using advertising revenue to help pay for it.

According to the report, it is “a departure from Google’s core business as an Internet search engine. It would put the company into competition with Internet service providers, including cable TV companies, telephone companies and wireless carriers”.

 

 

 

 

Wireless Facilities historically has built networks for cell phone carriers worldwide.

“We don’t want to talk about the nature of the relationship or how it came to be,” said Michael Baehr, spokesman for Wireless Facilities. “It’s extremely sensitive.”

Wireless Facilities historically has built networks for cell phone carriers worldwide.

It has recently begun focusing on the market for Wi-Fi networks, such as the kind San Francisco is looking to build. Wi-Fi, which is short for wireless fidelity, can beam high-speed Internet access to small areas. It is already in use in some businesses, schools and homes, as well as in public places, such as airports and hotels, which offer “hot spots” for customers.

Baehr said Wireless Facilities has bid to build Wi-Fi networks in a number of cities in the United States, including two in which the company has been named a finalist. He declined to name the cities.

A handful of cities nationwide are exploring the idea of creating citywide Wi-Fi networks for computer users to access the Internet at high speeds.

Philadelphia wants to have a network up and running by next summer. It is expected to announce its contracts for the initiative soon. New York City is also exploring the idea.

Wi-Fi networks have already been deployed in smaller areas, such as Chaska, Minn., and Cerritos.

In Encinitas, visitors to San Elijo State Beach have access to a Wi-Fi connection provided by the state parks system and SBC Communications.

Intel, the computer chip maker, announced in August a pilot project that will deploy Wi-Fi networks in 13 cities around the world. The company said Cleveland, Taipei, Philadelphia and Osaka, Japan, would be the first to benefit.

In San Francisco, the plan is to blanket the hilly city with enough hot spots to serve nearly all its residents.

If Google’s proposal is selected, Wireless Facilities would provide the network engineering and installation services for the citywide network. Terms of the proposal were not disclosed.

Avondale estimates the cost of the project at $20 million.

Other companies competing for the contract, either on their own or with a partner, include Cingular Wireless, Earthlink, Ericsson, Motorola and Cisco Systems.

Wireless Facilities would not stand to make a great deal of money on the Google deal, Cutler said. Assuming the company received $5 million for its work, the impact to earnings would be about 1 cent per share, she said.

She said the real potential financial impact on Wireless Facilities would be if Google wanted to build Wi-Fi networks in other cities. Google has said its plans are limited to San Francisco.

In August, Wireless Facilities reported second quarter net income of $4.3 million, or 6 cents per share, on revenue of $111 million.

The company’s stock closed yesterday at $6.36, up 20 cents, or about 3 percent.

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