EarthLink has won the right to build out a wireless network in the city of New Orleans, the company said Friday. The network will be free for the time being as the city continues to rebuild, however EarthLink plans to offer fee based services as well. The free service would be throttled at 300kbps, while paid users would be permitted to use up to 1mbps of bandwidth.

As in other cities, the company would allow open access to the network in order to spur competition. EarthLink has assisted the city in keeping its municipal Wi-Fi network running since March. For many in the city, it has remained the only method of communication: many areas are still without phone service some nine months after Hurricane Katrina hit.