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How hard did EarthLink try to help its muni-WiFi customers?

Thu, 15 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Did EarthLink really try that hard to find suitable alternatives for those muni-WiFi networks the dial-up ISP has shut down over the past several months because it couldn't make a go of the business? That is the question being asked by a lot of folks lately.

The latest network to go dark is Philadelphia (See story No. 2). EarthLink and the city reportedly were negotiating for the city to take over the network in some way, but apparently couldn't reach an agreement; nor could EarthLink find a company to take over the network. Such has also been the case in New Orleans, where EarthLink's network is scheduled to go dark May 18. Other cities have purchased their networks outright.

It seems to most industry watchers, however, that EarthLink has been unfair in its dealings with these cities, giving them short time frames to find a buyer or shutting them out of the negotiating process altogether. For many months, the ISP left them in limbo about what its plans were in terms of the muni-WiFi network. All the while, these cities thought EarthLink would honor their contracts because of the stiff monetary penalties involved. If they would have been given definite answers early on, they could have been researching alternatives on their own for some time. Negotiating deals and alternatives are complex and time-intensive.

In Philadelphia, for instance, one of EarthLink's showcase cities for muni-WiFi, city officials said in January they thought EarthLink might pull out of Philadelphia but weren't expecting an answer for another 60 days. Officials figured EarthLink would pull the plug on the network when it heard in the news that the company would eliminate 900 workers by the end of 2007.

In the meantime, the muni-WiFi business is bouncing back in other cities where network operators are working with more sensible business models that include local government anchor tenants and/or a few other high-user tenants such as colleges and medical campuses. But it appears EarthLink has blinders on as it continually says the muni-WiFi business doesn't work. Of course everyone knows now that the general consumer muni-WiFi approach doesn't work. The company just wants out of the business.

"EarthLink's corporate culture is just about the consumer," noted Craig Settles, muni-WiFi expert and author. "It could have turned this into a business play, offering muni-WiFi as an extension of cities' wired infrastructure or it could have turned to different partners and found a better and more graceful way to turn this bump in the road into a business."

It's especially a shame for the Philly network, which has had one of the longest-running networks in the country. According to Settles, the city did one of the best jobs in terms of needs assessment and planning, it was always clear about the purpose of the network and never got on the free-broadband-for-the-masses mentality. It' main mission was to spur economic development, offer cheaper service to bridge the digital divide and reduce the cost of government. Partner Wireless Philadelphia has been aggressively moving to offer discounted services to under-served areas of the city, funded by community partners and other sources. Government users were given access too. And the network was about 80 percent complete.

Still, Wireless Philadelphia says it continues to work with the city to identify alternatives for keeping the network. Interestingly, Wireless Philadelphia says nothing in the 10-year network agreement it and the city has with EarthLink permits the ISP to unilaterally impose deadlines for the network's transfer, turn off the network or remove network equipment. Perhaps we'll see some 11th hour legal action before the network goes dark?--Lynnette

EarthLink yanks muni WiFi network in Philly

Thu, 15 May 2008 06:59:56 -0400

EarthLink has pulled the plug on its $17-million municipal WiFi network in Philadelphia after it says it failed to reach an agreement with the city to take over the network. Originally, reports claimed EarthLink would give the city until the end of this week to come up with a deal, but now the company says no deal could be reached. City officials told the Wall Street Journal that the network would cost taxpayers millions of dollars each year.

"It's been an unfortunate situation," said EarthLink CEO Rolla Huff. "It was a great idea a few years ago... but it's an idea that simply didn't make it."

Earlier this year EarthLink announced it was no longer interested in the municipal WiFi business. The Philadelphia network had reached about 80 percent of its build-out. EarthLink has already stepped away from contracts with San Francisco, Houston, New Orleans and others. The only big contract outstanding is now Anaheim, CA, according to EarthLink.- Brian Dolan

For more on EarthLink pulling the plug:
- read this WSJ report (sub. req.)

New Orleans' muni-WiFi network to go dark

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:59:53 -0400

EarthLink's muni-WiFi network in New Orleans will go dark on May 18 as the company--which is pulling out of all of its muni-WiFi projects--was unable to find a buyer. Unlike the networks in Milpitas, Calif. and Corpus Christi, Texas, which were transferred to those cities' governments, New Orleans didn't want to buy its network.

EarthLink said subscribers in New Orleans have been notified of the shutdown and are being offered alternate services in place of WiFi.

EarthLink still has WiFi network agreements with Philadelphia and Anaheim, Calif., and is in discussions with cities regarding the networks.

To read more about EarthLink's muni-WiFi shutdown in New Orleans:
- check out this InformationWeek article

Related articles:
EarthLink officially pulls plug on muni-WiFi business EarthLink muni-WiFi report
EarthLink could dump Philadelphia muni-WiFi Philadelphia WiFi Report
Who would buy EarthLink's muni-WiFi business? Editorial on EarthLink's muni-WiFi business

WiFi to the rescue

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 20:01:36 -0400

EarthLink has contracts in eight U.S. cities to provide municipal WiFi service, including hurricane-ravaged New Orleans. Although the network will not be ready until early September, local officials say that they have every intention to make the WiFi system a central component of the city's law enforcement, emergency, first response, and business continuity plans in the city. In other cities, too, the push for muni-WiFi has been supported in part as a means to make more efficient the communication among emergency crews and between these crews and the central office, but in hurricane-susceptible New Orleans the push to provide emergency units with better means of communication has an added urgency.

One of the first things to break down during Hurricane Katrina was the region's communication system: The storm knocked down relay towers, tore up communication cables, flooded switch board bunkers and cable closets and more. For a while after the storm, the only communication available to rescue units in along the Gulf Coast was satellite communication.

There are tensions accompanying the New Orleans deployment (the city's CIO even threatened that he was ready to go to jail over the issue): EarthLink will be offering free service at 300 Kbps and for-fee service at 1 Mbps. The issue of speed is important here--and has deterred other potential providers--because Louisiana state law limits the transmission speed cities may provide on city-operated network (it has to do with fair competition). Public safety services, however, insist on higher speed for greater usefulness and reliability of their communication system. New Orleans's The Times-Picayune recently reported that in parallel to EarthLink's 300 Kbps service, the city will continue to operate its 512 Kbps service, hoping the state legislature will pass a law allowing it to do so.

For more on New Orleans WiFi:
- read this Bayou Buzz report
- and Glenn Fleishman's WiFi Netnews report
- as well as this March 2006 Red Herring report

MORE: Downtown Pittsburgh has also enjoyed WiFi for a while, but the system has limits, and businesses and residents have began to complain. Report

SPOTLIGHT: New Orleans can't catch a break

Tue, 28 Mar 2006 19:01:32 -0500

As if New Orleans did not have enough trouble, the Louisiana legislature is threatening to turn off the free WiFi network there, which was initially created as a temporary communication measure in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It was launched on the assumption that it would eventually be taken over by a corporate partner and turned into a paid service. Such a partnership has not been found so far, and the city is prohibited from running its own public WiFi network faster than 128 Kbps, as this could pose an unfair competitive threat to broadband providers in the area. New Orleans CIO Greg Meffert said that regardless of orders from the legislature, he and the mayor have agreed to keep the network running under city jurisdiction until other arrangements can be made. Report