Philly's Wi-Fi net to be shut down

Philadelphia's pioneering citywide Wi-Fi network is shutting down.  

EarthLink, the company that aggressively sought to be the network's operator, said Tuesday it will end the Wi-Fi service. Subscribers will have a 30-day transition period with service.

The company had been negotiating for months with the city and the nonprofit group Wireless Philadelphia to transfer the entire network, which EarthLink values at $17 million, to one or the other, along with a cash payment and the donation of new Wi-Fi equipment.

According to an EarthLink statement, the effort unraveled due to "unresolved issues" among the three negotiators.

EarthLink also Tuesday filed a proceeding in federal court seeking a declaration that it may remove its equipment from the city's street lights and that its total potential liability may not exceed $1 million. EarthLink reclassified its municipal Wi-Fi assets to discontinued operations in the third quarter of 2007. That followed a decision in early 2007 to halt its aggressive municipal wireless rollouts, and then abandon the business.

The company recently successfully negotiated the transfer of another wireless network, in Corpus Christi, Texas, back to that city.

Earthlink said it will offer service through June 12 and then start decommissioning the network. The service fared poorly in performance, had limited subscribers and failed to live up to its promise when it was announced about two years ago. The network is an outdoor Wi-Fi mesh, based on equipment from Tropos Networks.