EarthLink Teams Up With Google to Build San Francisco Wireless Internet Network
Posted on: Thursday, 23 February 2006, 12:00 CST
By Scott Leith, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Feb. 23--It's no surprise EarthLink is chasing a deal to build a wireless Internet network in San Francisco. After all, the company is doing the same thing across the country.
But the Atlanta company has found an unexpected partner: Google.
Google, the Internet search engine, previously floated the idea of creating a free wireless network in San Francisco. Now it has agreed to team with EarthLink on a new approach.
EarthLink wants to build a wireless fidelity -- or wi-fi -network to provide high-speed Internet access at a cost to customers of about $20 per month. Google would use the network to offer free access, albeit at far slower speeds.
Whether this happens is far from assured, as San Francisco has five other proposals. Rivals to the Google/EarthLink include a team with tech giants Cisco Systems and IBM.
For EarthLink, pairing with Google provides another sign of the company's ambition in the hot but still unproven market for municipal wi-fi. EarthLink has deals to build, at its own cost, wi-fi networks in Philadelphia and Anaheim, Calif.
"It's all starting to come together," said Donald Berryman, EarthLink's president of municipal networks.
San Francisco won't spend anything for a wireless network. Instead, EarthLink and Google would spend $6 million to $7 million to cover the city.
In addition to San Francisco, EarthLink has submitted proposals for wi-fi networks in Minneapolis, Denver, Portland, Ore., Arlington, Va., and Brookline, Mass., Berryman said. The company plans to pursue deals with Atlanta and other cities.
Abe Kani, Atlanta's chief information officer, said the city has talked to a number of vendors but is still developing plans. Kani expects the city to request proposals in March.
EarthLink's interest in new business extends beyond wi-fi to a number of other areas. The company is diversifying in a gambit to move beyond reliance on dial-up Internet services.
On Wednesday, in preparation for a meeting with analysts in New York today , the company said 2006 will be a "transformational year" in which it will spend millions on new areas. As a result, the company expects to break even or lose up to $45 million, notably on costs associated with its Helio cellphone joint venture.
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Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
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