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June 19, 2008

A group of local investors that call themselves Network Acquisition Partners has stepped in to save Philadelphia’s Wi-Fi network.

The group has already acquired about fifty percent of the nearly city-wide network previously built by EarthLink.

In January, EarthLink had already announced plans to shut down its Wi-Fi network in Philadelphia, as the business model failed to make a profit.

Out of the 1.4 million residents in Philadelphia, less than 0.5 percent or only about 6,000 customers agreed to sign up for the service.

Users also complained about poor and unstable signal strength and lack of customer service.

Network Acquisition said it plans to offer free wireless access outdoors, while most residents will have to purchase additional equipment to access the network indoors.

The group plans to underwrite the free service by selling wired and wireless services to business customers.

The newly formed company also said it plans to finish building its Wi-Fi network, which currently covers about 65 to 80 percent of the city.

The group said they originally acquired the network from EarthLink, but did not disclose terms of the deal.

Investors in Network Acquisition include technology entrepreneur Richard Rasansky, a director at equity investment firm Boathouse Communications, and a few others.

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Source: Earthlink.