PUC hears support and privacy concerns over EarthLink pole‑use agreement for municipal Wi‑Fi

The commission discussed a negotiated poll‑use agreement with EarthLink on April 24 that would allow EarthLink to attach communications equipment to city‑owned streetlight poles as a step toward a broader municipal Wi‑Fi network.

Mr. Ginsberg, representing the city, and staff characterized the agreement as the result of exhaustive negotiations and a public‑benefit package that, they said, exceeds comparable deals elsewhere. The packet includes a provision that could raise the city’s free service minimum speed if EarthLink’s payments to other pole owners were disproportionately large.

Supporters from KQED, academia and community groups told commissioners the poll attachments are a critical step to reduce the digital divide. Leslie Ruhl of KQED said a delay or a “no” vote could postpone free Wi‑Fi for San Franciscans for years.

Critics—including privacy advocates and community technologists—raised multiple concerns: the short timeframe between negotiation and the scheduled vote, the contract’s valuation of poles compared with other cities, potential indoor coverage limitations of the technology and the absence of a municipally owned alternative in the packet. Kimo Crossman warned of privacy and Sunshine Ordinance questions raised around PUC email and records access.

Staff answered technical questions about aesthetics (planning commission reviewed pole design), offered comparables to other cities, and said the proposed per‑pole fee was set to cover cost rather than generate profit. No vote was taken; commissioners asked staff to return with any outstanding documentation and with the associated network agreement at the time of the action vote.