WIFI is free in Philadelphia Will Lead Nation Into the Future

Philadelphia is once again leading the way. Its wireless which when owned by Earthlink and sold to residents wasn’t successful has been sold to a private/public partnership run by the former Mayoral candidate. Now that it is free, it is being used.

This is the future of commerce, education and entertainment. Philadelphia, really the nation’s first city, is right to lead the way for this much needed infrastructure.

Network users soar now that Wi-Fi’s free

CENTER CITY. Glitches remain, but thousands of new users have begun patching in to the city’s wireless Internet system in the month since a group of private investors took over and offered free access, company officials said yesterday.

Network Acquisition Company, which bought the troubled Earthlink network for an undisclosed amount last month, said there are more than 17,000 daily users now, compared to the 6,000 Earthlink subscribers at the time Earthlink sold its system. NAC is still assessing the network and was initially boorish on the system’s indoor reliability, but one NAC co-founder said yesterday it appears that several routers are accessing the network.

“We still think there’s a fair amount of indoor usage taking place because people don’t usually take routers outdoors,” said Mark Rupp, one of the investors who make up the company that also includes entrepreneurs Derek Pew, Rick Rasansky and former mayoral candidate Tom Knox.

Some users complain the connection is still spotty, even outdoors in parts of Center City.

…Wireless Philadelphia, the nonprofit organization responsible for helping low-income customers get digital access, said its users must now reconfigure their routers to use the network. Greg Goldman, the organization's president and CEO, said customers can call for help.

NAC also plans to bring significant new coverage areas online within the next few weeks, according to Rupp. Eventually, after its assessment is complete, the new company hopes to build a wired system to provide premium service to businesses and institutions.

This is the sort of forward thinking and investment in the future is what will bring Philadelphia into leadership for new business. It makes sense for the future and good for its residents. Go Philly.

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