More on Free Broadband

I got curious today, and I contacted Denis of AnchorFree Wireless (the folks who are starting free wireless internet in the Marina), to try to find out why they are rolling out their wireless service in the Marina, and he let me in on his company's reasoning:

We decided to launch our first wireless Internet "hotzone" on Chestnut Street in the Marina for several reasons:

1) Enough places to use wireless

-We felt that there are enough locations for individuals to use the wireless Internet access in a relatively small area. There are about 15 locations where individuals can sit down and use the Internet wirelessly.

2) It is away from downtown

-We fully support Mayor Newsom's vision of free Wi-Fi for every citizen, however we do not want to compete with him, which is why we decided on launching in an area far from downtown.

3) Students contacted us

-Numerous students contacted us after we launched our Palo Alto hotzone showing their support for what we were doing and asking us to expand to the city. We asked them to list for us their favorite hang out scenes. Chestnut was consistently towards the top. While the residents of Chestnut can certainly afford wireless Internet, students who hang out there cannot.

He also pointed out that I was too harsh on his company's efforts in my first post. I think he's right. I should have made it clear that I think it's great that his company is providing free internet for San Franciscans. My original point was (or was supposed to be), that if we depend on companies like AnchorFree to provide us all with broadband, the coverage will not be universal. And that the economic incentives are for them to cover wealthier neighborhoods, first if not exclusively.

Denis went on to invite LeftInSF readers to help AnchorFree figure out what other neighborhoods to cover:

I read your post and considering that we made it free and in contrast, multi-national corporations like T-Mobile charge $40 per month and only make starbucks wireless, I think you were a little harsh on us. Having said that, I invite you and your readership to e-mail me a list of locations they would like to see "wireless" with the following criteria:

1) Lots of places to use the Internet

-an area where at least every other business is a restaurant or cafe

2) Specific boundaries

-A location that is at least 3-blocks long, give me specific street names and the proposed boundaries

His criteria sort of illustrate my point, cause there are a large number of neighborhoods in SF that don't fit these criteria but would benefit hugely from wireless interenet. The problem that AnchorFree is trying to solve--making money in a socially responsible way--is not the problem that we are trying to solve: making sure everybody has access to the resources of the Internet.

That said, I think there is overlap, and we should encourage them to hook up the neighborhoods where we live, work and hang out. One suggestion I would make would be 24th Street between Valencia and Potrero. Plenty o' restaurants and cafes, and a pretty contained area.

What do you folks think? Go ahead and email Denis@anchorfree.com if you have suggestions, and feel free to let us know what you suggest in comments.