San Mateo County will get free wireless internet

A vendor has been selected to set up a free wireless Internet service, using wifi, that is supposed to cover San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties and to stretch "west to Half Moon Bay" according to some reports.

The vendor, a partnership of Cisco Systems, IBM, SeaKay and Azulstar—still has to come to agreements with local governments, reports the County Times

At no cost to the cities involved, Metro Connect intends to make its money back through advertisements and through charging user fees for faster connections. The service will be free at one megabyte per second downstream and 50 to 60KB upstream, and is primarily intended to be used outdoors. Indoor use probably will require a wireless signal booster.

Metro Connect also will need to obtain approvals and permits from each city or agency to install the wireless antennae, mostly atop street light poles. The coalition estimates it will be 12 to 18 months before installations are complete, Moura said.