San Francisco seeks to speed up fiber Internet expansion

Falling behind other cities in providing Internet service, San Francisco is taking steps to ensure fiber optic installations occur concurrently with other road work.

Under a dig-once proposal being voted on soon by the Board of Supervisors, the Department of Technology would be required in many cases to ensure conduits for a fiber network are installed simultaneously with road trenches dug for sewer or electrical work. The requirement would ensure The City is able to expand its existing fiber network, which is the backbone of wireless networks, and at a lower cost, officials say. The fiber optic network, for example, is currently being used for the free public Wi-Fi along Market Street, in public buildings like City Hall and for the 32 public spaces where service was launched recently.