PHILADELPHIA—The last political hurdle for Philadelphia’s citywide Wi-Fi project has been cleared, as Philadelphia’s city council gave its final approval to plans to provide low-cost Wi-Fi to all residents. The council voted unanimously in favor of a proposed 10-year contract with EarthLink Inc. to build, operate and maintain a 135-square mile citywide Wi-Fi network.
According to reports, EarthLink plans to begin network construction in June and expects to have fully deployed the network by the third quarter of 2007. The city’s low-income residents will be charged $10 per month for access to the network, while other city residents will pay about $20.
Under terms of the contract, no taxpayer dollars will be used to fund the network.
As the nation’s first large city to announce plans for a municipal broadband initiative, Philadelphia’s Wi-Fi project sparked national debates that are still playing themselves out as broadband providers question the fairness of government bodies being allowed to own and operate Internet access networks.
