Google Pays For Free Wi-Fi in San Francisco Parks

Free Wi-Fi is coming to 31 San Francisco parks, thanks to local tech giant Google picking up the massive tab

City supervisor Mark Farrell announced the news on Wednesday. All of the parks, plazas and open spaces are expected to be fully connected by spring 2014, with installation beginning this December

While it will bring free Internet to thousands of San Francisco residents and visitors, the move doesn't come cheap: Google is paying $600,000 to cover the necessary installation, hardware and maintenance costs

Why? It's a smooth PR move to be sure, but Google's community affairs manager Veronica Bell said the company hopes it has larger implications than just a positive news splash