And the San Francisco Wi-Fi contract goes to ... the Google/Earthlink team. The companies were selected after a six-week review to build a city-wide Wi-Fi network.
Google and Earthlink submitted a joint proposal for the city-wide wireless network in February. The companies' proposal was chosen from a pool of possibilities.
"We are thrilled that the San Francisco TechConnect Committee has selected the EarthLink proposal, and we look forward to taking the next step to negotiate a contract to build a municipal wireless broadband network," Donald Berryman, executive vice president of EarthLink wrote in a blog entry. "San Francisco is one of the most progressive cities in the world and our combined offerings with Google, Motorola and Tropos Networks will stretch the possibilities of what a mobile network can do for residents, businesses, municipal government and visitors," Berryman wrote.
Motorola and Tropos' Wi-Fi meshed networking gear would support the network.
Earthlink was other city-wide Wi-Fi projects under way, including a contract win from the city of Philadelphia.
With the current economic climate, wireless operators face shrinking marketing budgets and reduced consumer spending.
Globally, the credit crunch is very much alive, and operators will be tightening their belts into the foreseeable future by putting off capital purchases.
