San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross report that disputes over what will and will not be offered free to city residents have delayed an announcement¬¨‚Ćon San Francisco’s¬¨‚Ćproposed muni wireless offerings.¬¨‚ĆSan Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross report that disputes over what will and will not be offered free to city residents have delayed an announcement¬¨‚Ćon San Francisco’s¬¨‚Ćproposed muni wireless offerings.¬¨‚Ć
On Christmas Eve, the two reported: 
The elves in San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s workshop are racing to beat their end-of-the-year deadline to announce the city’s plan for “free” wireless Internet service. ‚Äö?Ѭ?The key sticking point: what exactly will be free and what Google and EarthLink will be allowed to charge customers for upgraded service.¬¨‚Ć
They quote San Francisco Telecommunications chief Chris Vein as saying “I wouldn’t say we are black and blue (from the talks), but this is a big, complicated deal.”¬¨‚Ć
You have to wonder just how big and just how complicated. Models are out there. We’ve talked about many at our conferences and on this site. One popular model that is emerging is a two-tiered plan in which a basic, lower-speed service is offered free while high-speed services come at a price.¬¨‚Ć That is what Washtenaw County will offer and, while the San Francisco programs seems stalled, theirs is moving forward.
[…] Wi-Fi Networking News¬†this week¬†put coal¬†in the stockings of munis with Wi-Fi projects plagued by delays: San Francisco, the state of Illinois which has temporarily backed off a plan¬†for wireless Internet access at highway rest stops, and Oakland County, Michigan,¬†which has bumped back¬†its target date¬†for completion¬†to 2008. […]