Philly wireless system set for full Council

Since it was announced nearly two years ago, Mayor Street's plan to bring citywide wireless broadband service to Philadelphia has crept along at dial-up speeds.  But a City Council vote yesterday has backers convinced that the plan is finally ready for the information superhighway. Or at least the political one.

A pair of Council committees unanimously approved a contract between the city and Wireless Philadelphia, the nonprofit Street created to administer the system to be built and operated by the Atlanta-based Internet firm EarthLink. The contract will now head to the full Council, as early as next week.

"This is a huge transformational benefit to the city at no cost to taxpayers," City Solicitor Romulo L. Diaz Jr. said.

If Council approves the deal, EarthLink will begin work on a system of 4,000 wireless Internet transceivers that would allow customers to access the Web from anywhere in Philadelphia. EarthLink would lease access to the network to other Internet providers and offer Internet access on its own, charging as little as $9.95 a month for low-income residents.