# Wi-Fi News > Ειδήσεις - Αναδημοσίευση άρθρων >  Free San Francisco Wi-Fi project dies

## mbjp

http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9769087-7.html




> EarthLink said late Wednesday that it is bailing out of a contract to build San Francisco's free Wi-Fi service.
> 
> EarthLink backed out of the deal a day after the company announced it was laying off 900 employees--nearly half of its staff. EarthLink, which is trying to get its finances in order, announced earlier this summer that it would not invest in any new citywide Wi-Fi deployments until it came up with a better business model.
> 
> But it was assumed the company would fulfill obligations with cities where it had already signed contracts. Now it looks like EarthLink is trying to get out of any deal where it hasn't already begun construction, even if it has a signed contract.
> 
> Earlier on Wednesday, the city of Houston announced that EarthLink had agreed to pay a $5 million penalty to the city for not meeting its first deadline for building its wireless network. EarthLink has nine months to start construction or figure out a way to get out of the contract altogether.
> 
> And now, the company has also dissolved its contract with San Francisco, which was approved in January but was awaiting final approval from San Francisco's Board of Supervisors.
> ...

----------


## Acinonyx

Και πολύ "free" το δίκτυο που πήγαν να στήσουν πάντως...

----------


## ggeorgan

Δεν ρωτούσαν εδώ που τα γράφαμε προ 5ετίας ότι το πράγμα δεν έχει φράγκα; Το πρόβλημα ανέκυψε σε πολλές πόλεις ταυτοχρόνως. Μόνο εκεί που το θέλει ο δήμος για δικό του λογαριασμό πιάνει και ως επιχείρηση.

----------


## mbjp

> EarthLink to Cities: Pay for Wi-Fi Setup
> By BetaNews Staff, BetaNews 
> August 31, 2007, 5:13 PM
> 
> Plans for municipal Wi-Fi in a dozen cities currently in negotiations with EarthLink may be in jeopardy as the company is imposing new demands on how the networks are to be paid for. Until this point, the ISP was willing to pay for the setup costs: now it is asking the cities to foot that bill. This includes the proposed network in San Francisco.
> 
> The move is yet another cost cutting measure for EarthLink, which is struggling to get its financial house in order. Earlier in the week, it announced it is laying off approximately half its workforce and closing four offices.


http://www.betanews.com/article/EarthLi ... 1188594781

http://www.betanews.com/article/EarthLi ... 1188333677

----------

