The City of Atlanta is getting a metropolitan wireless network from one of their own — Earthlink.

EarthLink, which is headquartered in Atlanta, will provide 1 Mbps service in their standard configuration used in Philidelphia, Milpitas, Anaheim, Pasadena, Alexandria and most recently, San Francisco (still under final review).

Tropos Networks is used for their mesh network and Motorola Canopy provides wireless backhaul where needed. Upload and download speed will be 1 Mbps. The $17.95 monthly fee will be less where low-income residents can get discounts.

“Atlanta has been EarthLink’s home for many years, and we are excited about the opportunity to showcase this exciting new technology in our own backyard — and ultimately, change the way people access the Internet,” said Donald Berryman, executive vice president of EarthLink and president of the ISP’s municipal networks unit.

As part of its commitment to open access, EarthLink will enable multiple, competing providers, to offer their services to consumers and businesses over its network. For small businesses, Atlanta’s wireless network will also provide an alternative for broadband connectivity, such as an affordable wireless T-1 solution.

IP telephony provider Vonage has already signed on to resell EarthLink’s broadband service along with its own telephony services in cities where EarthLink is building its network.

Posted by Sam Churchill on Thursday, January 25th, 2007 at 1:25 pm.