Google formally submits bid to provide free WiFi in San Francisco

October 1, 2005 Google Inc. formally submitted a bid to provide free wireless internet, or WiFi, in response to a request from Mayor Gavin Newsom's office.

The company's goal is to ensure easy, reliable access to its search engine at all times. In another sign of its interest in Internet access, Google recently bought an undisclosed stake in a Maryland startup, the Current Communications Group, which is trying to provide high-speed connections through power lines.