EarthLink inks deal with Metricom

(Telephony) EarthLink is now offering mobile broadband wireless service to customers in three cities through Metricom’s Ricochet.

Neither the length nor the value of the contract were disclosed. As is standard for Metricom, EarthLink will not own any equipment, but will instead resell mobile broadband connectivity from the data service provider.

The service, which provides 128 kb/s Internet access to mobile laptop users, is now available to EarthLink customers in Atlanta, Phoenix and San Diego, with rollouts in additional cities planned for later this year.

According to a spokesman for EarthLink, the new service adds to the company’s connectivity portfolio, which already include dial-up and DSL Internet connections.

“In the case of Ricochet, what this allows us to do is bundle the mobile wireless service with our dial-up service,” he said. “[Customers] are able to get not only the Ricochet, but their regular EarthLink service as well.”

An EarthLink subscriber can get dial-up as well as mobile broadband service for $79.95 per month. In addition, customers can order the Ricochet service to go along with DSL for an additional $59.95 per month, the spokesman said.