At the end of January I introduced a hearing request to discuss the results of a study which I commissioned three years ago regarding the feasibility of building a citywide fiber/broadband network of the sort being constructed in cities such as Amsterdam, Milan, Zurich, and Hong Kong.

The study, conducted by the Columbia Telecommunications Corporation consulting firm, concludes that FTTP will be an essential technology that would “enable essentially unlimited and open communications capacity to all residences and businesses.”

To put fiber technology in context, where 4G technology (i.e. WiFi) is still in development, subject to interference and limited in range with a predictably short shelf life, fiber is the medium considered by those in the know as the “holy grail” of information transmission. Fiber/broadband has earned this title because of its near limitless capacity to transmit information, its reliability, and its flexibility in accommodating technological advancements. No private sector company, like AT&T for example, currently has plans to install a citywide fiber network.

A City owned fiber network would have a myriad number of immediate and knock-on benefits. For example, San Franciscans would have numerous options of phone, cable, and internet providers and could finally escape the monopoly or duopoly that SF’s residents currently suffer under. The reliability and coordination of SF’s emergency response services would be greatly enhanced by having a network in city hands as the private sector gives no special priority to city government needs in times of emergency.

We as San Franciscans have a unique opportunity here stay ahead of the curve on where we know technology is heading the world over, while at the same time finally closing the digital divide once and for all. Rarely does an infrastructure project of such promise and import present itself to us. Installing this technology citywide may prove to be the single most important infrastructure project related to this city’s overall economic well-being for decades to come.

We are still looking for applicants to sit on the Public Utilities Commission’s Citizen Advisory Committee. If you are interested, please contact my office at 554-5144, or the Office of the Clerk of the Board at 554-5184.

I would like to announce that for those looking for free legal advice, the Brightline Defense Project is a non-profit civil rights and legal aid organization that is an invaluable tool. If you believe that you are facing discrimination or sexual harassment in the workplace, housing discrimination, unequal access to education, have encountered discrimination from a public official, have been denied the due process afforded to you by the law, or feel that you are experiencing discrimination as a result of your sexual orientation, please contact the Brightline Defense Project immediately at 1-877-837-0110 or visit their website at www.brightlinedefense.org.

Contact Tom Ammiano at: Tom.Ammiano@sfgov.org

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