San Francisco has formally walked away from a deal to build a Wi-Fi network throughout the city, reports RCR News. The effort was already largely considered dead late last month when EarthLink rescinded its proposal to cover the estimated $14 million to $17 million cost of building San Francisco’s Wi-Fi network.
According to Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who chaired the committee, it appears EarthLink isn’t in a position to honor terms of the contract.
The bureaucratic move Wednesday makes the EarthLink effort “a moot point,” San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano said. “It’s done,” he added. “Now we have to start all over again.”
It’s unclear whether a ballot measure slated for the November election will still go on; voters are being asked to vote for free Wi-Fi access, but the outcome will be unbinding.
EarthLink wanted municipalities to help pay for the construction or be an “anchor tennant”, but San Francisco (and other cities) were unable to come to mutually agreeable terms.
“We will not devote any new capital to the old muni Wi-Fi model that has us taking all of the risk by fronting all of the capital, then paying to buy our customers one by one,” President and CEO Rolla Huff said in a conference call with analysts last month. “In my judgment, that model is simply unworkable.”
The company last month fired 900 employees, including Don Berryman, the executive who led the company’s municipal Wi-Fi division. EarthLink also closed offices in Orlando, Fla.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Harrisburg, Pa.; and San Francisco, and also said it will substantially reduce its presence in Pasadena, Calif., and Atlanta.
Meanwhile, Portland’s MetroFi network now has over 550 live outdoor access points in more than 25 neighborhoods. After seven months of continuous utilization growth, MetroFi now claims Portland is one of the most widely used municipal Wi-Fi networks in the country.
DailyWireless has been using MetroFi’s free WiFi service continuously over the last two weeks. So far, it’s been working well. There have been 2-3 glitches, lasting about 5 minutes, but they were pretty minor.
That wasn’t always the case with MetroFi. But suddenly my experience has gone from bad to good.
Of course, one person’s experience has no statistical relevance. Russell Senior, of Portland’s Personal Telco Project, undertook a detailed and comprehensive assessment several months ago and found connectivity only about 50% in their service areas. That seemed to match many people’s experience.
I am connected from my apartment using a 200wW Engenius USB client plugged into a 19db panel. That may have something to do with it.
Related Municipal Wireless stories on DailyWireless include; SoCal Wireless: Toast?, MuniFi: What Now?, Houston Gets it’s Money Back from Earthlink and Earthlink Restructures, MuniFi Holds Breath.
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