http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/ Engadget Comments for Earthlink considers "strategically" withdrawing MuniFi investments http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 18th 2007 9:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Earthlink sucks in all facets of business and technology. One of the worst provider experiences I've ever had the misforture to be invovled with.]]>Nov 18th 2007 9:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 18th 2007 10:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Maybe if Earthlink actually spent the money and installed a system that was useful then people might purchase their package?]]>Nov 18th 2007 9:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/
Even in the dial-up space there were always better alternatives to them. The only reason they got briefly big was because they were very aggressive at marketing themselves as the anti-AOL.

Plus the pre-bubbleburst Internet analysts loved to over-hype founder Sky Dayton as a wunderkind, and he turned out to be a one-trick pony. His Boingo and eCompanies still haven't found a survivable business model, unless you call draining investors of their money a business model.


]]>Nov 18th 2007 9:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 18th 2007 10:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 18th 2007 10:22AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/
Living in Philadelphia, one of Earthlink's original sites, city WiFi has been met with some skepticism from some, but the parks are full of people on city WiFi, many that work relatively closely, some that work for themselves and want internet anywhere.

Not to mention, of course, that with Philadelphia anyway, it's hardly free. $10/m promo for a little while, but the true price is $20/m. That's hardly free, but the city investing in the infrastructure made it possible for people to pay for this particular service - just as they pay for sewer, trash pick up, water, etc - all of which are city services.

]]>Nov 19th 2007 12:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/
I had a wifi modem with a gigantic antenna, and I was getting a good signal inside my house. Even so, it never worked right. I'd bet anything it was a shared bandwidth issue - it usually worked during the daylight hours, but as soon as the sun went down (and presumably, people are home from work and actually using the service) my speeds went down to sub-dialup rates. If I could connect at all it was a miracle.

I would call customer service and they would tell me things like "clear your temporary internet files" or "download our Feather connection software." I thought it was pathetic that I had to tell tech support that the feather software is embedded in the firmware of the modem they sent me. Earthlink tech support is nothing but a distraction technique and to get you off the phone.

Whoever sold this as a workable technology was either a brilliant salesman or a complete con-artist. Probably both.]]>Nov 19th 2007 9:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/
I guess if it's contracted out and all the city does is supply money that's one thing . But you're back to accountability. With the configuration I'm familiar with, where the city itself is the operator, there is none.

Just remember there is no such thing as "free stuff". There is only stuff paid for by someone else. ]]>Nov 19th 2007 9:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 18th 2007 10:40AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/*drools*

Google, hear our cries.]]>Nov 19th 2007 3:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/i used to live in apt and i would gave my next door neighbor a cable off the wired router. now, i just let the neighbors have it all with the wireless. and when im on the road, i used whatever wifi around. with

i dont have docs to protect on my pcs, so i dont care about securities.]]>Nov 18th 2007 10:44AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/
...Oh, nevermind, a 92% random chance just isn't impressive. Okay then, let's take bets on how long it takes before his machine gets completely owned by some pissed neighbor kid.]]>Nov 19th 2007 3:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 18th 2007 10:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/
Quest's primary source of revenue is POTS.

Comcast's primary source of revenue is cable television.

Verizon's primary source of revenue is POTS, with voice POTS a very close second.

The current state of Internet service in the US is such as it is because it is INCREMENTAL REVENUE. It is a secondary service (like call forwarding and pay per view movies). It just happens to cost a lot more than other "premium" services. Even if you pay the extra fee for not bundling, you are still getting a break on infrastructure due to your neighbors having video and phone service. In some areas, running wire can cost as much as $500/ft, and negotiating rooftop antenna rental fees can run into thousands of dollars. That's a lot if you want to charge a competitive price and be a pure-play ISP.

That's why everyone's worried about FiOS and Xohm. It allows the "triple play" AND crazy fast data connections.]]>Nov 18th 2007 11:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/
That should read "wireless POTS."]]>Nov 18th 2007 11:26AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 19th 2007 3:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/
Another thing is, who the hell is going to pay $10-$20 a month for internet access with an extremely limited area of coverage? I pay $20 a month for data on my phone and despite how slow it is, I can get internet access pretty much anywhere I go.]]>Nov 18th 2007 11:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 18th 2007 12:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 18th 2007 12:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 19th 2007 3:57AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 18th 2007 1:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 18th 2007 1:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 18th 2007 1:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 18th 2007 7:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 18th 2007 1:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 18th 2007 6:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 18th 2007 11:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/Nov 18th 2007 11:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/earthlink-considers-strategically-withdrawing-munifi-investmen/]]>Nov 19th 2007 12:38AM