Google partners with San Francisco for free Wi-Fi across the city

San Francisco
San Francisco will look even better with free Wi-Fi for all

San Francisco has become one of the most tech-savvy cities in the world thanks to the influx of tech companies like Google, but tragically some in the city still somehow live without free Wi-Fi.

Thankfully the search giant has stepped in and partnered with San Francisco officials to provide free Wi-Fi in 32 new public locations around the city.

These locations include parks, plazas, community centers, and other public places that now have Wi-Fi for all thanks to a $600,000 grant from Google.

San Francisco Supervisor Mark Farrell reportedly worked with the company for two years to arrange this deal.

Welcome tech

There's been some backlash from long-time San Francisco residents against the influx of tech companies and their workers, but officials quoted by ABC 7 News said residents are welcoming their new neighbors.

"Our residents said, 'Yes, we want the tech companies to come, and we hope that they'll partner with us to bring Wi-Fi so we can access the Internet," City Supervisor Jane Kim said.

SF Mayor Ed Lee gave assurances that the networks are secure, private and anonymous, with no one collecting data and no strings attached.

He added that he hopes San Francisco will eventually be blanketed entirely in the comforting shroud of free Wi-Fi for all.

The full list of locations where users can hook up to Google's free Wi-Fi can be found on the SF Board of Supervisors website.

Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.

Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.

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