Budget Committee pauses EarthLink broadband deal over privacy, speed and oversight concerns

The San Francisco Budget & Finance Committee on Tuesday continued consideration of a proposed citywide wireless network managed by EarthLink after supervisors and civil liberties groups pressed for changes to contract length, privacy protections and free-tier speed.

The committee chair outlined several proposed revisions, including cutting the contract term in half (from 16 years to eight), adding a city purchase option for equipment at fair market value at the end of the term, and raising the guaranteed speed of the free tier from 300 kilobits per second to 500 kilobits per second. The chair also said the committee needs clearer service-level agreements and stronger privacy protections for users of the free tier.

Nicole Lozer, technology and civil liberties policy director at the ACLU of Northern California, urged supervisors to make specific contractual changes before approving any agreement. "People who can't afford to pay for the service have to pay for it with their privacy and free speech rights," Lozer said, arguing the contract currently allows tracking of who people are, what they are looking at online and their location when using the no-fee service.

EarthLink representatives said they had taken proposed modifications to corporate offices and asked for time to respond. "That would allow us to actually bring a response to you early next week," an EarthLink representative said, asking the committee to continue the item for additional negotiation.

Supervisors and witnesses also debated how the free tier would adjust as EarthLink's paid tiers change. EarthLink described a mechanism in the draft agreement that would raise the free-tier speed to 15% of the most-popular paid subscription level; if paid subscriptions shift to higher speeds, the free tier would increase accordingly. Community speakers and supervisors said they wanted independent performance measurement and clearer commitments to avoid service disparities between neighborhoods.

Brian Roberts of the Department of Telecommunications and Information Services said DTIS has responded to earlier concerns in writing and expects EarthLink's replies will shape the next hearing.

The committee adopted a motion to continue items 3 and 4 for two weeks to allow EarthLink to return with proposed contract language and clarifications. No formal vote on the contract was taken; committee members said changes should be settled before forwarding any recommendation to the full Board of Supervisors.