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EarthLink Launches Two New Municipal Wi-Fi Networks

7:30 am on December 23, 2006 | Category: Internet, Wi-Fi, Wireless Technology

American ISP, EarthLink, has switched on two more municipal Wi-Fi networks this week, in Milpitas, California and New Orleans, Louisiana.

EarthLink, which had significant success in the dialup market during the 1990s, but failed to gain much ground in DSL, is increasingly using wireless radio technologies as an affordable way to implement new broadband services. The company has won the right to launch mesh Wi-Fi networks in eight U.S. cities, including two especially high-profile projects in Philadelphia and San Francisco.

EarthLinkâ€™s first network was launched in Anaheim, California in June, offering unlimited 1-Mbps wireless broadband service at a cost of $21.95 per month. Visitors to the city can get special three-day pass for $15.95.

A similar deal is now being offered in Milpitas, and in New Orleans, where a free citywide Wi-Fi network was launched shortly after Hurricane Katrina. A low-bandwidth tier of the broadband service will remain free in the Louisiana city for the foreseeable future, as many area businesses continue to recover.

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