The Internet, free

THERE'S A WHOLE lot wrong with the agreement that allows AT&T the exclusive right to operate a cable-TV franchise in San Francisco. Cable is too expensive, the service is lousy, the company doesn't spend anywhere near enough on public access channels ... the list goes on. Many of the problems have been aired by critics over the past few months, as the city moves to renegotiate the franchise. But as Annalee Newitz reports on page 18, there's a huge issue that's gotten almost no attention – in fact, it appears as if nobody at City Hall even understands it.

A handful of community-minded high-tech activists are trying to change that – and if they succeed, San Franciscans could save millions of dollars a year on Internet access.

All over the city, a loosely affiliated group of techies is building wireless networks, systems that use remarkably cheap, simple technology to allow people to access the Internet – at very low cost or even for free – by sharing broadband connections. Ultimately the program could create a citywide network of computer uses who could share files, software, printers, and other equipment.

But AT&T's user agreements for broadband Internet service specifically bar customers from creating those networks. The city shouldn't allow that – the cables that handle broadband are the same cables used for TV, and the Board of Supervisors should make sure any new franchise agreement contains a specific provision preventing AT&T (or ComCast, which just bought its cable business) from restricting wireless networks.