News / Wi-Fi
Philadelphia agrees EarthLink Wi-Fi deal
On 7 February 2006, the source reported that Philadelphia had reached a ten-year deal with EarthLink for wireless broadband service to residents. The arrangement was described as a prominent test of the company’s municipal broadband strategy.
Terms reported at the time
The source gave a wholesale access price of nine dollars a month and said a residential rate would be below twenty dollars. These were proposed 2006 terms within a specific project, not current pricing or proof that every resident would receive a service.
A closely watched city experiment
Municipal Wi-Fi drew attention because it combined city-scale coverage ambitions with a commercial operator. The item records the agreement stage, not later construction, adoption or financial results. Its importance lies in the model being tested rather than in a claim that the outcome was already known. The reported agreement left the actual results of that test for later evidence.