EarthLink wins second muni Wi-Fi contract

Less than a month after winning the contract for Philadelphia’s citywide Wi-Fi network, EarthLink announced it has won a similar contract for the municipal wireless network in Anaheim.

Like the Philadelphia contract EarthLink will both build the 50-square-mile Wi-Fi mesh footprint and act as the primary ISP. EarthLink will first build a two-square-mile proof-of-concept network in the city for testing and analysis. The remainder of the network will be completed by the end of 2006.

Using Anaheim’s public light poles as installation points, EarthLink will deploy Tropos Networks’ MetroMesh Wi-Fi routers, which will act both as hotspot access points and backhaul radios to link the mesh back to an EarthLink point of presence. EarthLink provided no specifics on plans for pricing the network, saying only it would be inexpensive. In Philadelphia, however, it has promised to deliver broadband speeds for under $20 a month to residents and even lower prices to underprivileged residents. EarthLink is running an open-access model in both markets allowing other ISPs to use the infrastructure.

With two municipal contracts under its belt, EarthLink is now going after the big prize, San Francisco’s citywide network, which has drawn more the 26 proposals. The biggest contender in that race is Internet search provider Google, which is proposing to offer free Internet service to the city’s residents. Google would fund the project through advertising targeted to the customers’ locations. Google’s partner Wireless Services would design and deploy the network. EarthLink has submitted a proposal similar to that of the Philadelphia and Anaheim networks.