The companies put in a bid on the project Tuesday after having submitted separate informational filings with the city last fall. The companies had been in talks a few months ago about a joint bid that would bring more comprehensive services to the table, said Bill Tolpegin, vice president of development and planning for EarthLink's municipal network group in a phone interview late yesterday.

San Francisco's deadline to submit requests for proposals for its citywide network was yesterday. The city has said it received six submissions from the following: EarthLink/Google; Communications Bridge Global, MetroFi, NextWLAN, Razortooth Communications and SF Metro Connect.

The EarthLink/Google bid is perhaps the most prominent, as Google had proposed back in the fall to provide free access to city residents on the network it could provide. Those plans still seem to be alive, as Google and EarthLink proposed a 2-tier network that offers basic free access and a premium service for faster access, according to Tolpegin. "We'd provide free and pay service side by side," he said. EarthLink's 1 Mbps service would be available city-wide for about $20 a month, while Google could provide basic Internet access at slower speeds for free. The combination of the two offerings, according to Tolpegin, provides more opportunity for the city to offer both an entry level service and one that would draw more advanced users.

Under the joint proposal, Motorola and Tropos' Wi-Fi meshed networking gear would support the network.

The San Francisco network would be smaller than EarthLink's installation in Philadelphia, Tolpegin said. The San Francisco network would cover 47 square miles, while the planned Philadelphia network, with 135 square miles, covers almost three times the area. Still, coverage in San Francisco will bring some challenges. The foggy city's infamous hilly terrain makes the installation a bit different than flatter Philadelphia.