Philadelphia's Wi-Fi network threatened with shutdown

EarthLink attempted to give Philadelphia a deadline of last Thursday to hand over control of its municipal wireless network in order to shut it down gracefully, however the city has so far pushed back the effort.

Wireless Philadelphia, the non-profit group tasked with management of the network, said that the service continues to operate across the city. It argues that EarthLink has no right to set any type of deadline for a handover, or shut the network off.

EarthLink stopped accepting new customers last week. The two sides have been in discussions about a transition, but so far have not come to any type of agreement. The city had attempted to find a new operator for the network, but deals there had also fallen through.

New Orleans is facing a similar fate: its Wi-Fi network will shut down May 18 because EarthLink could not find someone to take over the daily operation.

Philly mayor Michael Nutter has expressed support to keep the network running, which Wireless Philadelphia applauded. "We are extremely grateful to Mayor Nutter and the Nutter Administration for the aggressive efforts they are making along with us to find a replacement for EarthLink and to breathe new life into this vital project," it said in a statement.

The organization later said that it would not discuss any negotiations currently in progress.