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Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Earthlink Bids Philly Adieu
Barring last-minute heroics, EarthLink will end its municipal Wi-Fi work in Philadelphia in June as part of its effort to get out of the muni Wi-Fi business.
The Philly deployment had less than 6,000 subscribers and the city government had bowed out long ago. EarthLink, which has said it has spent more than $20 million on the deployment, has filed a federal lawsuit asking that its future responsibility be limited to $1 million as specified in its original agreement with Philadelphia.
EarthLink has been turning over its muni Wi-Fi networks to city governments or otherwise extracting itself from various deployments since late last year. It recently pulled out of New Orleans and turned over networks to Corpus Chisti, Texas, and Milpitas, Calif. Other deployments, in San Francisco and Sacremento, never got beyond the planning stage.
That leaves Anaheim, Calif., as its last Wi-Fi deployment. It's still negotiating its exit there with city officials.
New CEO Rolla Huff has refocuces the company on its ISP business, receiving judos from Wall Street for putting it on the road to profitability.
This may put a damper on some who use free Wi-Fi networks frequently. Many apartments, lofts, and other living communities provide free wireless, and soon, may be losing the privaledge. If you are looking for free wireless in downtown Philadelphia, head to the Packard Motorcar Building. Historic landmarks is proud to offer free Wi-Fi it the common area of the building.
The Philly deployment had less than 6,000 subscribers and the city government had bowed out long ago. EarthLink, which has said it has spent more than $20 million on the deployment, has filed a federal lawsuit asking that its future responsibility be limited to $1 million as specified in its original agreement with Philadelphia.
EarthLink has been turning over its muni Wi-Fi networks to city governments or otherwise extracting itself from various deployments since late last year. It recently pulled out of New Orleans and turned over networks to Corpus Chisti, Texas, and Milpitas, Calif. Other deployments, in San Francisco and Sacremento, never got beyond the planning stage.
That leaves Anaheim, Calif., as its last Wi-Fi deployment. It's still negotiating its exit there with city officials.
New CEO Rolla Huff has refocuces the company on its ISP business, receiving judos from Wall Street for putting it on the road to profitability.
This may put a damper on some who use free Wi-Fi networks frequently. Many apartments, lofts, and other living communities provide free wireless, and soon, may be losing the privaledge. If you are looking for free wireless in downtown Philadelphia, head to the Packard Motorcar Building. Historic landmarks is proud to offer free Wi-Fi it the common area of the building.
