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Mobile & Wireless
Update: AT&T Consortium Dropped from Philly's WiFi Hopeful List
Two Groups Vie for the Prize
by Jim Barthold
Philadelphia Wireless, the non-profit organization developing a city-wide fixed wireless network, has cut its list of potential vendors to two, according to news reports, dropping a group led by AT&T with Lucent and BelAir Networks from its short list. The organization expects to make a decision between EarthLink, working with Motorola Canopy and Tropos and Hewlett-Packard with Atillo, Big, Alvarion and Tropos within the next 30 days.
Construction on the network, which will provide high-speed Internet access via fixed wireless infrastructure throughout the city, is expected to begin late in September or early in October with the entire network constructed within a year.
The network is being built to bring broadband capabilities to residents now faced with either no access via the leading incumbents – Verizon and Comcast – or access that is outside financial reach.
“We’re going to have four to seven ISPs and our goal is to set the wholesale rates such that ISPs will be able to deliver service for around $20” for a minimum of 1 Mbps of symmetrical service, said Dianah Neff, the city’s CTO said in a recent interview with Telecommunications Magazine.
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