Whatever happened to that municipal wifi plan we used to hear so much about? I remember the days of Earthlink blanketing San Francisco and Philadelphia with free public wifi. Apparently, it’s too difficult to get a few routers implanted around the city.

I guess I’m ok with that. There are enough coffee shops offering free internet that it doesn’t really affect me much.

It is shocking though, that the project has been so dismally managed that Earthlink wants out completely.

The firm retained by Philadelphia to build a citywide wireless Internet network has spent millions more than its anticipated costs and cannot say when it will complete the project, City Council members were told today.

In fact, EarthLink Inc. didn’t show up for a committee hearing on Wireless Philadelphia. The company’s recent announcement that it was retreating from the municipal wireless business prompted the hearing. But EarthLink made it clear by its absence that it did not want to be peppered in public with questions while it rethinks its business strategy.

Further…

EarthLink said it has spent more than $20 million to establish the broadband wireless service, “in excess of the $12 million to 15 million anticipated by the City and EarthLink at the outset of the project.”

The network is substantially complete, the company said, but neither EarthLink nor city officials could provide a date for when the system - the most ambitious municipal network in the United States - would be completed.

$20 million OVER a $12-15 million dollar budget?! How did that happen? Did everyone involved in the project get a free iPhone?? Glad to see that the network is “substantially complete” but still Earthlink won’t show up for a meeting to gauge the fate of the project…