Two big Internet service providers have just agreed to sell EarthLink
Internet access to their clients.

EarthLink has decided to open up its municipal wireless systems to
competitors by allowing them to distribute its service on a retail basis.

The company has no problem with the set up, saying that it does not want to
have a monopoly on wireless Internet.

AOL is expected to benefit from the deal as it is trying to expand its
high-speed Internet service in order to prevent the continuous exodus of its
dial-up subscribers who are now shifting to broadband.

DirectTV will also be gaining from the agreement. By bundling Internet
access to its TV service, it is confident that it would edge out cable TV
firms in attracting new customers.

DirectTV and AOL will be offering Internet access in all the areas where
EarthLink has or is putting up municipal Wi-Fi networks.

The deal will not prevent EarthLink, though, from competing with the two
companies for Wi-Fi subscriptions. It expects that 20% to 30% of its
subscriptions would be from retail clients, while the rest would be taken up
by wholesale partners.

The company is currently in talks with other potential Internet service
retailers in Anaheim and Philadelphia.

Earthlink has just inaugurated its first municipal wireless network in the
country.

The Internet service provider’s Anaheim system covers 6 square miles of the
city’s downtown area.

The network is still a work in progress, though, as EarthLink’s wireless
blueprint involves all of Anaheim. Network coverage will increase to 10
square miles within a month. The company expects to blanket the whole city
with wireless access by the end of the year.

The $22 subscription cost is higher than the $13- $18 rate that other ISPs
are offering in California. However, EarthLink’s service is faster. Its
subscriber could receive or download data at 1 megabit per second, 18 times
faster than the average dial-up connection.

Observers are concerned on the possibility that EarthLink might not be able
to profit from the venture due to the presence of other competitors that
already have established systems in the area.

AT&T Inc. provides DSL service in Anaheim, while Adelphia Communications
Inc. offers cable Internet.

EarthLink officials are undeterred, though. They said that the broadband
market is still mostly untapped.

Around 50% of U.S. households that have Internet access are still using
dial-up. EarthLink is optimistic that these households will choose wireless
Internet over cable and DSL when they’ll opt to shift to broadband.

EarthLink is also currently working on a similar project in Philadelphia,
Milpitas, and New Orleans. San Francisco and Aurora, Colorado also awarded
their wireless contracts to the company.

Atlanta officials are bent on putting up a wireless Internet access system
in the city.

Invitations for bids and proposals were already sent out for the
installation of a network that would provide Internet coverage to all of
Atlanta.

While city officials are hoping that they would get favorable deals or
proposals from several Internet service providers, the state government has
already laid out a plan to come up with a budget or funding program that
would finance the development of public Internet systems.

The $4 million initiative came from Gov. Sonny Perdue. He made the proposal
during the last session of the state legislature. He said that the state
grant will promote economic development, enhance educational opportunities,
and provide the government with efficient means to reach and serve its
constituents.

Atlanta ranks high in terms of Internet access availability in the south.
However, its networks are not as big and complex as those that are being
planned and built in San Francisco and Philadelphia.

Some groups fear, though, that the government might be moving too fast in
its plan to connect the city online. There are concerns that people might
not use or subscribe to the new municipal service once it is already up and
running.

However, Atlanta officials believe that having a public wireless Internet
network in the city will be very beneficial as it would attract tourists,
residents, and businesses.

Pennsylvania residents and businesses can now easily avail of high-speed
Internet access as Verizon is aggressively expanding its presence in the
state.

The company is taking advantage of a recent report that most of the
consumers in the United States prefer digital subscriber line (DSL) access
over cable Internet. DSL subscription is outpacing all the other means of
Internet connection because it is faster and less expensive.

Verizon Online DSL has already reached more than 60 areas since January of
this year. The expansion has brought broadband Internet to over 27,000 phone
lines in areas such as Mt. Union, Youngsville, Hawley, Tobyhanna, and
Bradford.

The locations where DSL access was improved cater to 30 telephone lines on
the minimum and serve as many as 1,000.

Verizon said that advances in high-speed Internet technology enabled them to
expand their service to many locations in the state.

The company has already spent nearly $10 billion in installing, maintaining,
and upgrading its Pennsylvania system over the last 10 years. It has been
unfailing, and even exceeding, in its broadband development project as laid
out in a network modernization plan that was authorized by the Pennsylvania
Public Utility Commission.

Verizon DSL is now available in 88% of the company’s call-switching centers,
and 81% of its telephone lines all over the state.

Propel Wireless and Lawrence FreeNet have just decided to collaborate with
each other in order to expedite the deployment of wireless Internet
technology in Kansas’ underserved areas.

Both companies lament that while almost every home in the country has some
form of Internet access, or at least could easily subscribe to one,
households in low-income communities are still having a hard time being able
to connect online.

Many Internet service providers are hesitant to put up networks in poor and
underserved areas, fearing that they might not be able to recoup their
investments.

Propel Wireless and Lawrence FreeNet want to narrow the Internet access gap
between the affluent communities and the low-income neighborhoods by
providing the service themselves, and for free.

Under the agreement, the Kansas City-based Internet firm will be providing
Lawrence FreeNet with a large bandwidth. The nonprofit group, in turn, will
offer free Internet access to those who can’t afford the regular service
rates of other ISPs.

The U.S. Department of Higher Education has recently revealed that only 31%
of students from low-income households have computers and Internet access at
home.
In contrast, 80% of the students coming from high-income families could
connect to the Internet at home.

Lawrence FreeNet cites the government agency’s report as another reason to
fast track the development and availability of wireless broadband technology
in poor areas.

Pleasanton will soon become the latest addition to the growing number of
towns and cities that are sponsoring municipal wireless Internet access
systems in their areas.

The Pleasanton City Council has just recently approved the plan to put up a
Wi-Fi network in the downtown area. The service will cover well-known
landmarks and other attractions such as the Museum on Main, the city
library, the Veterans Memorial Building, and the contemplated Firehouse Arts
Center.

The city will be benefiting economically from the wireless project as it is
expected to entice businesses to put up branches in the downtown area. More
people are also expected to flock the wireless hot spots, which means
additional customers for the shops in the area.

The Wi-Fi plan was primarily intended to help the city’s law enforcers to
obtain information while patrolling the streets.

While the downtown network will not yet be up and running until November or
December of this year, there are already plans to expand its coverage to
other public areas such as parks.

Pleasanton’s information services manager, Allen Hammond, said that the
first round of expansion will cover the parks located in the downtown area.
The Bernal Park will also be benefiting from future expansions once it
opens.

Consumers are advised to be very careful when subscribing to the promotional
deals that many Internet, cable, and other telecommunications companies are
offering.

The competition between these firms for a bigger share in their respective
markets is getting fiercer. As a result, they usually market their services
by promising low rates and additional services when they subscribe or shift
from their existing provider.

Consumer groups, however, cite that most of these promotional deals have
hidden provisions that grant the operator the right to increase the
subscription rate after a given period.

For example, Comcast Cable offers broadband Internet access for just $19.99
a month. The package even comes with a free modem and a $100 cash rebate if
consumers subscribe immediately.

However, the $19.99 promotional offer only lasts for 6 months. The monthly
charge jumps to $42.95 after the said period. Subscribers might even be
charged for equipment costs.

The monthly subscription rate for new AT&T Yahoo subscribers is now just
$12.99. However, the price goes back to the regular $29.99 rate after one
year.

Consumer groups are advising those who have plans to subscribe to broadband
Internet to read the fine prints and try to bargain with the provider in
case they are not amenable to the terms and conditions of the deal.

Consumers could also try other smaller independent Internet service
providers that offer cheaper rates, such as NetZero, PeoplePC Online, and
ISP West.