Free Internet — for whom?

OPINION

The city of San Francisco has moved another step forward in its quest to make the Internet accessible to all city residents. Last month six vendors submitted bids offering free or low-cost Internet services. But what does it mean to provide access to all?

Well, access to all means more than free Internet. A wireless network alone — even a free one — won't provide universal access. TV stations offer free broadcasts, but if you do not have a TV set and know how to use it, the broadcasts are of no use to you. Even if you have a TV, you'll flip through the channels and turn it off if nothing appeals to you.

By the same token, access to the Internet will mean little for underserved communities unless it is coupled with affordable computers, appropriate training, and tech support. And to move beyond universal access to engaged, universal usage, we need to ensure that the Internet has the content that is relevant to our local communities: information about jobs, education, and health care in our own neighborhoods — as well as the opportunity to share our own local stories, in our own voices and languages.

We can do this.

San Francisco is full of groups and individuals that can provide the know-how. Caminos, for example, provides computer trainings to low-income immigrant women. The group's computer repair shop serves the low-income community, while at the same time providing supervised practice work for students seeking a career in technology. At the Homeless Prenatal Program homeless mothers and mothers-to-be learn computer skills; they learn how to use the Internet to get answers to their basic health concerns and to look for jobs and housing.

A full list of groups would be too long to include here, but many more appear on Media Alliance's Web site (www.media-alliance.org). They all do outstanding work in our diverse communities on a daily basis with minimal budgets and few human resources. With sweat and hard work, they are bearing the burden of closing the digital divide in our city.

But they need resources — and the city needs to ensure that its wireless plan includes the creation of a digital-inclusion fund to support the work that these community groups are doing. Some vendors have incorporated this idea into their proposal; others haven't (you can see a comparison chart on Media Alliance's Web site).

There's a good precedent here: Philadelphia negotiated with Earthlink to create a digital-inclusion fund. Earthlink will contribute $2 million to the fund in the first two years and pay 5 percent of all future revenue to support affordable hardware and technical training. Ten thousand free computers for low-income households will also be made available in Philadelphia.

There are still lingering questions about other aspects of the Philadelphia agreement, including ownership and the length of the deal. But on digital-inclusion issues, San Francisco must see Philadelphia as a baseline for the city's wireless initiative. If San Francisco fails to deliver, the promise of a "free" Internet for all will remain an elusive dream. *

Sydney Levy

Sydney Levy is program director for Media Alliance.