Despite having proposed a free wireless Internet service in San Francisco with advertising targeted to users' locations and
interests, Google won't require an e-mail address for login or make users stay associated with a particular identity the whole time they're
using the service.
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What the company is saying now about its planned service with EarthLink seems to represent a change in emphasis from its earlier approach, though it gave few details in its response to the city's
request for proposals (RFP) in February. But even critics of the company's plans don't agree on whether their pressure brought
results.
The two companies' plan to build and operate San Francisco's citywide Wi-Fi network has come under fire from civil liberties
advocates since even before the companies responded to the RFP. Concerns that Google would make users trade their personal
data and location information for free broadband have been among the biggest issues surrounding the Wi-Fi initiative, which
was kicked off in 2004. Critics have also decried inadequate opportunities for public comment, a lack of planned funding to
help low-income users enter the digital age and other issues.
The privacy drive has been led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California, the Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
The controversy over municipal Wi-Fi in San Francisco has been closely watched as part of a national debate over whether cities
should get involved in Internet service, but also because the high-flying Internet search company is involved. Google and
EarthLink teamed up to propose a two-tiered service: EarthLink would offer a paid subscription service with speeds over 1Mbps
and Google would offer a 300Kbps service for free. The city and the two companies are now negotiating a contract for the network.
The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.
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