It looks like San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is serious about a free or "affordable" municipal wi-fi network throughout his city, as noted here yesterday. The San Jose Mercury News reports he's going forward, despite SBC offering DSL for $14.95 a month and Verizon building out its own wireless network. He acknowledged topography challenges (as I did yesterday) and said he knows there will be opposition but he's prepared to go "head to head" with such opponents. He also said his city can learn from troubles in Philadelphia. It seems the best lesson to learn is to leave the market to the numerous broadband providers already serving the city, while welcoming any more that choose to target a city with some of the most affluent citizens in America.