The federal government turned down San Francisco’s application for $15 million in stimulus money that would have allowed the city to lay out its fiber network, making it cheaper to provide broadband connection to libraries and community centers.
The City has been planning to become what is known as a “middle mile” provider by using its fiber network to connect community centers and cheaply renting it out to smaller companies. In return, Internet service providers would connect more people and pass the savings on to their customers.