Google, along with more than a dozen competitors, has reportedly made a bid to provide the residents and visitors of the city of San Francisco with free wi-fi.

Though Google insist that it doesn't have plans for free wi-fi beyond San Francisco, the company has said previously that is corporate mission includes the promotion universal internet access as part of its corporate mission.

According to Om Malik, the Google proposal would provide residents and visitors "a free 300 kilobits per second, always on connection anywhere in the city." Also according to Malik, Google would offer "wholesale access to other service providers" that would in turn be able "to offer higher throughput connections for their customers."

Speculation began immediately regarding the impact of a successful bid by Google. Among the many concerns emergingwas how the company might use information they would be able to glean from those using the system.

In addition, the appropriateness of real time advertising has also been raised. With such city wireless offerings, a Google searcher might see lunch offers for a local restaurant at a reduced rate provided reservations were made in a specific time block or other such possibilities.

The word coming from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome's office was that a decision would be made in a matter of weeks.