Google on Wednesday rolled out its free wireless Internet service inits hometown of Mountain View, Calif., covering 11.5 square miles ofthe city with some 380 access points. A 1Mbit per second connectionwould be provided to each user, who would be able to use the network bysigning up for a free Google account.
"Thisnetwork is a way for us to give back to and engage with the communitywhere our headquarters are," product manager Minnie Ingersoll said. "Ithas been has been tremendously rewarding to partner with the localgovernment, the schools, the library, the neighborhood associations,and all of our trusted testers to introduce the power of free, wirelessInternet connectivity to the city."
If demand is high enoughfor more speed, Google said it would explore increasing bandwidth. Thecompany has tested speeds of up to eight megabits per second accordingto press reports.
The project is the first to go live forGoogle, although it has partnered with EarthLink to provide a similarservice in the city of San Francisco. However, Google executives havequashed rumors that the company may be ready to make a push to offerWi-Fi nationwide.
In an interview with the New YorkTimes, special initiatives head Chris Sacca told the paper that suchrumors were unfounded. The projects in Mountain View and San Fransciscowill be used as test beds for new Google efforts, as well as showingthe value of providing wireless Internet access on a broad scale.
Otherthan the San Francisco contract, Google has not made bids to run any ofthe other 300 or so city Wi-Fi projects currently underway nationwide.
Ingersollechoed these beliefs. "We think successful mesh wireless deploymentswill promote competition, create cheaper access alternatives, andfoster open, standards-compliant platforms for content and serviceproviders to showcase their applications without the hassle of thetraditional walled-garden approach," she said.
