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San Jose, Calif., Will Seek Bids for WiFi Plan

Posted on: Wednesday, 26 October 2005, 18:00 CDT

By Jessie Seyfer, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

Oct. 26--In what could be a step toward citywide wireless Internet service, the San Jose City Council Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to expand free wireless access to all city parks and libraries, and to several downtown thoroughfares.

Over the next two months, the city will seek proposals from private companies to bring wireless Internet, or WiFi, to areas beyond its three current hotspots. It expects to select a vendor by January.

While all 10 council members present supported the measure, Councilman Dave Cortese, who supervises San Jose's southeastern section, questioned whether the city had abandoned its goal to bring affordable WiFi to the entire city. Over the past two years, San Francisco and Philadelphia have launched initiatives to bring cheap or free WiFi to all their residents.

"Why are we focusing on just downtown?" Cortese asked his fellow council members. "Back in December 2003 we directed the city toward the goal of citywide WiFi, but now it's October 2005."

John Bjurman, head of the city's Information Technology Department, told Cortese citywide WiFi was still a possibility. He said his staff believed it was better to expand little by little than to launch a large-scale plan that could be costly for taxpayers.

"We don't want this to be just downtown -- we want to spread it throughout the city," Bjurman said.

He noted that the Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network public policy group has been pushing for WiFi to cover all of Silicon Valley, and that San Jose could participate in that effort.

An Information Technology Department staff report on the plan said a majority of so-called "stakeholders" polled on their opinions of WiFi in San Jose were against a citywide plan because they felt such an effort would be better left to private industry. Stakeholders included local media opinion writers, parks and library employees, business leaders and representatives from SBC and Comcast, which currently offer Internet access to residents for a fee.

The city already operates WiFi hotspots at Plaza de Cesar Chavez, San Pedro Square and Circle of the Palms. At those locations, individuals with WiFi-enabled laptops can log on to the Internet for free.

The expansion plan would first bring WiFi coverage to the downtown area surrounding the Guadeloupe River, to McEnery Park, and to approximately five-block sections of Santa Clara, San Fernando, San Carlos, First and Second streets as well as Park Avenue and Almaden Boulevard.

The city estimates that installing WiFi in these areas will cost $100,000 plus $60,000 a year in maintenance expenses. It hopes that companies that submit proposals can help them defray some of the overall expense.

Tuesday's vote also cleared the way for the city's Transportation Department to install WiFi to deliver data to its "Parking Guidance Systems" project. Thirteen digital signs will be installed downtown to bring up-to-the-minute parking and traffic information to commuters.

Joint Venture Silicon Valley Vice President Seth Fearey said Tuesday that his group has been meeting with information technology directors from about 15 different Silicon Valley cities for the past year to discuss installing WiFi throughout the region.

"We want Silicon Valley to be the most convenient place in the U.S. if you want to be connected to your e-mail," he said. "It should be very simple and straightforward."

Joint Venture expects next month to launch a formal request for suggestions from private industry and non-profits on how to bring WiFi to the entire valley.

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Copyright (c) 2005, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

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Source: San Jose Mercury News

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