Oct 6, 2007
Charleston, SC’s free Wi-Fi network goes dark
From Muni Wireless:
In another example of a private partner under-estimating the scope of muni Wi-Fi projects, the city of Charleston, SC, is being forced to decommission the free wireless hotspot that is already operating there. Whether the city will have to abandon the network remains to be seen.
Charleston had planed to deploy a wireless mesh across the city. Two years after it announced the plan, it is terminating its contract with the company that pledged to build and pay for it in exchange for the right to sell upgrades to a faster subscription service.
Sound familiar? This is the same business model that EarthLink was pursuing and that proved unworkable for that company. Widespread now says it underestimated how much hardware would be required to blanket the city with a signal.
Charleston is looking for a provider to pick-up where Widespread left off. The city’s economic developer told a local paper, The Post and Courier, that Charleston’s objectives have not changed.