(Associated Press via NewsEdge) A proposal to blanket 1,500 square miles of Silicon Valley with affordable wireless access to the Internet stepped closer to reality after a joint task force selected Silicon Valley Metro Connect to build and operate the network.
Metro Connect, a tech consortium that includes Cisco Systems and IBM, secured the winning bid from the Wireless Silicon Valley Task Force.
Further approvals by individual municipalities still needed to be worked out, however, before the wireless network aimed to serve the region's 2.4 million residents gets built.
Dozens of other communities across the United States, including the city of San Francisco, are also planning similar public wireless networks, but the Silicon Valley project will be one of the largest in scope.
The Wireless Silicon Valley Task Force, comprised of local government officials and representatives from utility companies, is proposing a network of thousands of radio transceivers that can carry Internet signals from South San Francisco all the way south through Santa Cruz.
The project will essentially create a giant 'Wi-Fi hotspot' like ones frequently found at individual airports and coffee shops.
Metro Connect's privately owned and operated network will be financed through sponsorships, giving residents in the region free access to basic Wi-Fi service at broadband speeds.
Additional features, however, such as Internet-based phone calls or streaming video, will carry some fees. Actual prices for the paid services have not yet been determined.
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