San Francisco is one of the largest cities in the U.S. pushing its own broadband initiative, a concept that has come under attack from some service providers and lawmakers. Opponents have argued that municipal network access programs are economically unfeasible and unfair to private service providers.

San Francisco's effort drew attention earlier this year when Google Inc. outlined a plan to deliver a network that would be free to both the city and users (see "Analysis: Google's Wi-Fi plan for San Francisco signals ambitions"). It would be supported in part by advertising targeted at users' profiles and locations.

The RFP gives prospective providers the specifications of the network so they can submit plans for meeting those guidelines. It also discusses contributions the network provider would make to other elements of San Francisco's TechConnect program, which includes affordable hardware, training and support and relevant content, according to a city statement.

By issuing the RFP, the city kicked off a 60-day process to determine how it will meet the citywide wireless goal. The municipality plans to pick a proposal and start negotiations early next year. Proposals are due Feb. 21.

The citywide network could be municipally owned, privately owned or a hybrid, according to the RFP. It calls for a network that is operated at no cost to the city and provides a "basic" level of access that is free to users. The network should also support premium services that the user would pay for.

The network would provide coverage outdoors across at least 95% of the city, with at least 1Mbit/sec for each user, the RFP says. IT also also calls for indoor coverage in many locations. It would have to support the Wired Equivalent Privacy and Wi-Fi Protected Access security protocols.

Third-party providers would be allowed to offer services over the network, the RFP says. In addition, users should be able to access content and use devices and applications of their choice, as long as they are legal. San Francisco won't consider plans that include access and network upgrades only in more populated or commercially attractive areas, it said.

All prospective service providers would have to submit a privacy policy covering issues such as what personal information is collected about users and how that information is used. The RFP doesn't stipulate particular privacy rules.