Wireless-less

As per the business page the other day, Earthlink's contraction means it's back to the drawing board for bringing for-profit wireless to Pasadena's light poles.

From my Aug. 2, 2006 story:

PASADENA - Saturating the entirety of Pasadena with an invisible stream of data came closer to reality Monday with the selection of a native-born company to build a municipal wireless network.

By this time next year - and at no cost to the city - EarthLink Inc. plans to install wireless transmission points in hundreds of street lights to offer paid access to the Internet for business, residents and city government.
...

Given the volatile metabolism of wireless technology, where the life-span of products and industry standards can be counted in months, Pratt said EarthLink was important to the longevity of the network.

EarthLink has promised to fold 12 percent of its future revenues from the network into maintaining and improving it, he added.

And according to Gordo, the city wanted to pick a viable company that would likely remain in business to operate the network.

The company's 12 years of operation make it practically an elder among the flare and fade of Internet technology companies.