EarthLink said Thursday that it was in the process of negotiating a contract with its hometown of Atlanta that would allow it to build, own, and operate a municipal wireless network there. The deal would be EarthLink's eighth in a major city. So far, it has operational networks in Philadelphia, New Orleans, Milpitas and Anaheim, Calif. Construction is underway in Alexandria, Va., and Pasadena, Calif., and a network is near approval in San Francisco.

The rest of the Atlanta network's specification would be similar to that of its other networks. 1Mbps connection speeds would be provided for $18 per month, with discounted rates available to low-income households. The network would also be open access, which means competing companies would be permitted to offer their own services over the same signal.