As more and more services and opportunities become available on the World Wide Web, the gap between those who are connected and those who aren't is becoming an increasing problem. Access to the internet is certainly not yet ubiquitous, and where it is accessible the costs are often high, and the choices for service low. In this talk, Chris Sacca, the Head of Special Initiatives at Google, Inc., explains some of the trials and tribulations that Google faced while installing its free Wi-Fi network in Google's hometown of Mountain View, California.

It's no surprise that Google had some obstacles to overcome when they decided to try to break through the barrier of wireless internet provider services and offer their own free solution to the residents of Mountain View. Even more restrictive than telephony services, it is hard for anyone to compete with data service giants who already have nearly a stranglehold on the internet providing market. Through collaborative efforts with the city council of Mountain View and communication with public service employees of the town however, Google was able to offer a free municipal Wi-Fi network to the town tailored to their needs. In doing so, they have also left a wake of network openness that the average person, company, or city may in the future be able to follow to offer their own municipal Wi-Fi network to large numbers of residents for little to no cost.

Sacca also mentions the emerging openness of internet technologies today. While some companies and groups feel that internet content should be censored or certain advertisements and services be impossible to avoid while surfing the web, others feel that the internet should be what users create it to be and be free of invasive advertisements and content under corporate pressures. Because of this, Google has tried to make the use of their free Wi-Fi network as local and uncommercialized as possible while still providing a great alternative to having to pay for internet service.