San Francisco, Google, EarthLink still negotiating: I happened to interview an EarthLink exec a few days ago on non-Wi-Fi topic during the middle of the city negotiations. He sounded a bit weary. The talks have lasted months, and they're still haven't agreed on the final details of what will be offered for free, and what network charges for for-fee service will be.

A project to unwire the 910 square miles of Oakland County pushed to mid-08 completion: The project was intended to offer both Wi-Fi and mobile WiMax, with the latter being used as a filler for areas in which Wi-Fi wasn't cost effective or had other limitations. The network was planned to get running by mid-2006, but the first phase didn't launch until fall. The local utility substantially delayed the project due to what may be reasonable issues about utility poles. Rather than offer blanket access, there have been reports over the last many months of needing permits for each pole. I have heard from multiple sources that utility poles can be in all kinds of conditions, especially in rural areas, and adding addition services might require replacing the pole or upgrading a temporary fix (like some kind of extender or a waiver that allowed a short pole) into a permanent solution. Nearly 27,000 poles are required for project operator MichTel to build out the network. Another part of the delay appears to be a switch to some kind of mesh technology by MichTel, too.

Illinois shelves rest-stop Wi-Fi: The state's transportation department received a single proposal when putting out the service for bid.