San Francisco Budget Analyst (2007). Fiscal Feasibility Analysis of a Municipally-Owned Citywide Wireless Broadband Network. Prepared for the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco. http://www.sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/budanalyst/Reports/WiFi/Municipa...
This document provides the results of a rigorous analysis by the San Budget Analyst’s Office on whether a citywide municipally-owned wireless broadband network would be fiscally feasible for San Francisco (the answer is: yes). While the document is designed to answer this question for the specific case of San Francisco, communities can use the document to develop a methodology for investigating the feasibility of a municipally owned network in their local context. Especially useful aspects of the document include the quick-comparison chart of the pros and cons of municipal, non-profit, and public/private ownership models (p. 3-4); the Budget Analyst’s concerns about whether the proposed public/private Earthlink model is in the best interest of the city and its citizens, particularly in terms of the city’s goal of bridging the digital divide (p. 6, Appendix 1) – many cities are considering similar public/private models and should be aware of the possible conflicts of interest that the Budget Analyst raises; the detailed financial analysis of a municipal wireless network, including identification of possible revenue sources and models (Section 3, p. 24). Ultimately, the Budget Analyst concludes that while a municipally owned model is more risky, it also has the potential to give the highest rewards; and conversely, while a privately owned model poses the least upfront risk, it offers the lowest rewards for the city and its citizens.
