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Looping together cities stretching from Daly City to Santa Cruz, Silicon Valley is on the verge of creating the country's largest public wireless Internet network that will serve as many as 2.4 million people in 38 cities in four counties and cover nearly 1,500 square miles.

All cities in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties are participating in the Wireless Silicon Valley Project that on Tuesday picked Silicon Valley Metro Connect, a collaboration of Azulstar Networks, Cisco Systems, IBM and Seakay, to build and operate the wireless network in the world's most wired place, said Brian Moura, assistant city manager of San Carlos and co-chairman of the project.

Users would be able to access the Internet wirelessly from their computers, cellular phones or PDAs anywhere outside, from city parks to their cars. Because the service is designed for the outdoors, customers will likely have to buy a device that costs $80 to $120 to use the wireless network indoors.

"In theory, you should be able to move around Silicon Valley and no matter what city you are in, ... flip open your laptop, turn on your wireless antenna and be on (the Internet)," Moura said.

The regional network could break ground as early as next year and may ultimately become a test for cutting-edge technologies, Moura said. Wi-Fi, as wireless Internet is called, could potentially be used for Internet telephone calls, movie downloads and monitoring traffic congestion. The agreement with Silicon Valley Metro Connect requires the companies to update their technology every three years, Moura said.

In choosing a team to build its network, Silicon Valley joins a long list of areas racing to bring residents wireless Internet connections. San Francisco is negotiating with EarthLink and Google for Wi-Fi service, and Philadelphia is working with EarthLink on a similar network.

Given the large area to be covered in Silicon Valley, the job will be formidable. The winning team expects to install at least 30,000 access points to give blanket coverage.

She said that the network will roll out in portions of Silicon Valley, starting 30 days after the installation work begins.

Boosters hope the project will become a wireless pioneer. Valley residents and businesses would gain access to different levels of outdoor wireless service, from the basic free service -- subsidized by advertising -- to services that offer higher speeds and tighter security starting at $15 a month, according to Moura. There is even a tier of service geared toward police and fire departments.

Next week, the Wireless Silicon Valley Task Force will begin negotiations with Metro Connect on a contract that will be distributed to all the cities and public agencies for approval. The first agencies to approve the agreement and permits for installation of network equipment will be the first to get the wireless coverage, Moura said.

Privacy advocates object to the industry practice of gathering information about users to sell advertising, but the team that will build the network insists that its service will protect user privacy.

Copyright © 2006. San Francisco Chronicle.