THREE WEEKS after the demise of Safe and Sound, another of former Mayor Street's pet projects has bitten the dust.
Yesterday, EarthLink, the private company that was working with the city to create a citywide wireless network, said it was taking its technolog-
ical marbles and going home, ending a three-year effort to create a municipal wi-fi network. After announcing in November that it was shutting down its municipal wireless division, EarthLink was unable to find a buyer for the infrastructure that the company has spent the last three years, and $20 million, building.
This is more than a disappointment, it's tragic. And not because the prospect of turning the entire city into a hot spot for wireless Internet propelled us into a technological vanguard. The original wireless plan had a big social benefit built into the program: bridging the digital divide by providing low-income people with cheap Internet access, all at minimal taxpayer cost.
But the company had been unable to figure out how to make citywide wireless profitable and simply could not afford to continue. Earthlink halted construction of the Philadelphia network, which is only about 80 percent complete. Customers have until June 12 to find alternate Internet service.
Mayor Nutter has said that the city will not spend any money to keep the network afloat. It's certainly frustrating that EarthLink has been unable to keep its end of the bargain, but we wonder if city officials acted - or refused to act - a little too hastily. After all, EarthLink has already invested more than $20 million into building the wireless network across Philadelphia. It seems foolish to let that work and money go to waste.
The other potential tragedy in the collapse of "WiPhi" is that it was a public-private partnership. We liked the idea that corporate profits and social benefits could potentially coexist, and actually help each other thrive. We hope the collapse of the EarthLink and Wireless Philadelphia deal doesn't prohibit similar pacts in the future.
It's a shame that a citywide wireless network with reliable Internet connection for every resident was a dream that never came true.
Still, we should not abandon the idea of providing computers and Internet access to low-income people.
Bridging the digital divide should still be a priority, and the city should be aggressive in finding alternative sources of funding for this part of the project. *