4-2 Short Paper: The Wonderful World of Free wifi

Joe L. Rodriguez

Information Technology Southern New Hampshire University

IT-505-Q4584 Core Technologies

May 14, 2023

 Did you say "free wifi"? The idea is revolutionary. However, I do not

go to outdoor locations like a park to access wifi. Generally, if I'm at a

park, I enjoy the nature surrounding me or the company of people I'm

with. I still see the draw to implementing the program to generate

business monies and stimulate the local government. In this short paper,

I will explore the San Francisco (S.F.) The municipal wifi system is called

#SFWiFi. The subjects included in this paper are the configuration,

reliability, or coverage of the network and how it could affect marketing

for smart device users.

Market Street is one of many streets in downtown S.F. where big

tech companies' headquarters are located. Companies like Twitter, Uber,

Google, and Square are peppered along the block. The coverage on

Market Street covers 3.1 miles starting from Castro Street and ending at

the Embarcadero. The supported coverage on the street is only as wide

as the street and outdoors. (SF.GOV, 2013) Thanks to a large "donation"

of $608,000 from Google in 2013 allowed the S.F. government to

expand its coverage to 31 more public areas with free signals. (S.F.

Examiner, 2013) As it stands currently, there are over 32 parks/ centers

that have the most pedestrian traffic and are equipped with #SFWiFi.
S.F. intends to continue to expand its coverage. Below is an image

showing the different locations people can access SFWiFi. The SFWiFi

cannot be accessed below S.F., where its public transit system is

located.

(Pho

to from SF.GOV)

Because of S.F.'s lineage of being a central tech hub, one would think

that all the users attached to the service would bog down its speed. In a

report from the Department of Technology (D.T.), there are around

314,000 weekly logins of SFWiFi network users. The sessions are

logged when a device connects, which the same device can do many

times throughout the day. The download speed is 10-15 Mbps. This is

the industry average, according to D.T. (D.T., 2013). If you have ever

been to a park in S.F., you would understand the concern of users eating

up the bandwidth of the service. A report from the S.F. Examiner states,

"Regardless of how many users are streaming YouTube videos or

tweeting photos on San Francisco's dime, they are not straining the

network. According to Ron Vinson, the Department of Technology's

chief marketing officer, daily data use averages 100 megabits per day, or

10 percent of the #SFWiFi network's gigabit capacity." (S.F. Examiner,

2013)

Unlike other major cities like New York, where they collect data from

your browsing history and personal data to use the service, you may not

access it if you opt-out. #SFWiFi does not collect any personal

information. According to a FAQ from D.T., "usage is not monitored,

only system statistics wifi health, stability, performance, and connection

speeds" (D.T., 2013). Unfortunately, S.F. has not posted the network
configuration online, nor are they willing to explain the configuration via

Skype or telephone.

Municipal wifi seems more beneficial to tech companies and the

government than the user. Yes, it is convenient to access the internet,

but don't we have hotspots that run much faster? The Municipal Wifi

seems more of a marking tool than a service. It reminds me of a

company I worked for, and I was given a small button-sized device that

cast particular advertisements on smart devices near it. I could also

place it in a common area like a park or bench, so anyone in range

would receive the broadcast.

 References:

D.T. (2023). Department of Technology. Department of Technology | San Francisco.

https://sf.gov/departments/department-technology

S. F. Gov. (2013). FAQ. SFGOV. https://sfgov.org/sfc/sanfranciscowifi

Staff, E. (2015, January 13). S.F.'s free public wifi is not very popular. San Francisco
Examiner. https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/sf-s-free-public-wi-fi-is-not-very-popular/
article_ac8f2489-d4db-5c5d-8d65-4d45f5bf43fb.html