Philadelphia Council Gives Final Approval to Citywide Wi-Fi Network

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Philadelphia Council Gives Final Approval to Citywide Wi-Fi Network

6:30 am on May 14, 2006 | Category: Business, Internet, Wi-Fi

Philadelphia’s city council has unanimously voted in favor of building a 135 square mile mesh wireless network, which will blanket the city in wireless internet access.

If everything goes according to plan, the network should be up and running by the summer of 2007, which will make Philadelphia the largest city ever to be fully blanketed in a wireless network.

“Philadelphia is a city of many firsts and this is a first as well,” commented councilwoman, Blondell Reynolds Brown after the vote was held. “It’s the first time a large municipality is saying we’ll take an aggressive role in ensuring that the digital divide is bridged.”

EarthLink, the ISP commissioned with constructing the ambitious project, will begin installing equipment in June, then conduct a three to four month technical trial over a 15 square mile testing area.

Atlanta-based EarthLink plans to invest $22 million in the project, over the course of its 10-year contract, and will charge about $20 per month for unlimited broadband internet access. Qualified low-income households will be able to get access for as little as $9.95/month, and EarthLink has promised to lease network capacity to rival ISPs so as to introduce some fair pricing competition into the mix.