The approximately 16-square-mile Wi-Fi mesh network will provide affordable, high-speed Internet access for the residents of and visitors to the City of Alexandria. After a period for public review and comment, the franchise is scheduled to be formally awarded to EarthLink at City Council's meeting on Saturday, December 16th.

EarthLink has emerged as one of the leaders in municipal Wi-Fi development, having been awarded contracts in Philadelphia; Anaheim, California; Milpitas, California; and New Orleans.

"When the City launched 'Wireless Alexandria' last year, it was beginning its journey into making government more efficient and improving residents quality of life, which are just a few of the benefits of a city-wide municipal wireless network," said Donald Berryman, executive vice president of EarthLink and president of the ISP's municipal networks unit. "Alexandria is now taking the next step by authorizing EarthLink to build an affordable and portable state-of-the-art network that will enable Internet access anywhere throughout the City."

"This initiative has tremendous potential for Alexandria's residents, businesses, and government," said Mayor William D. Euille. "We believe this is a smart way for the City to encourage broadband development, without interfering with the private sector."

EarthLink will also help promote 'digital inclusion' by offering discounted Internet access at a price of $9.95 a month for certain qualifying, low-income residents and will also provide free public Internet access in approximately two dozen public, yet-to-be-determined locations, throughout the City of Alexandria.

As part of its commitment to open access, EarthLink will enable multiple, competing providers, such as PeoplePC, to offer their services to consumers and businesses over its network.

EarthLink will deploy Tropos Networks' MetroMesh Wi-Fi routers on light poles throughout the city that will enable reliable wireless data connectivity between consumers and the Internet. The Tropos system forms a wireless mesh, intelligently routing data to produce the best possible user experience. The network will be operated and optimized using Tropos Control, an end-to-end configuration, monitoring and maintenance tool suite. In addition, EarthLink will deploy Motorola's MOTOwi4 portfolio of products, including its Canopy high-speed backhaul and Wi-Fi mesh network equipment.