NOTHING COSTS MORE THAN IT USED TO:

Google set to connect its entire home town to Internet for free (Michael Liedtke, 8/16/06, Associated Press)

Google on Wednesday plans to offer free, high-speed Internet access to everyone in its Silicon Valley home town — a hospitable gesture that the online search leader hopes to see spread to other parts of the country.

The new wireless, or "Wi-Fi," network, is believed to establish Mountain View, Calif., as the largest U.S. city with totally free Internet access available throughout the entire community, according to both Google and city officials.