Earthlink cuts ties to San Francisco Wi-Fi deal!
Earthlink Chief Executive Rolla Huff told Newsom during a telephone call "they were not going to be able to fulfill their end of the bargain," said Ballard. "Mr. Huff made it clear it wasn't going to happen with Earthlink; they are getting out of the Wi-Fi business." Earthlink and Google Inc. beat out five other contractors who bid last year on the contract to create a citywide wireless network here. Like Philadelphia, Chicago and several other cities, San Francisco has been competing to become the first large U.S. city to make the Internet available throughout its borders. Under the four-year agreement, which was never finalized due to a political tug-of-war between the mayor and the governing Board of Supervisors, Earthlink was supposed to bear the estimated $14-to-$17-million cost of building and maintaining the Wi-Fi system. Despite Earthlink Inc.'s decision to bow out of its deal to help provide free wireless Internet access throughout San Francisco, the mayor here remains committed to the idea. "We are still committed to free Wi-Fi, and we are going to get it done — quickly," said Nathan Ballard, a spokesman for Mayor Gavin Newsom. "We are disappointed, but we will not lose momentum here." Read more at muniwireless
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