Earthlink, Drexel partner for citywide wireless

By: Noah Cohen

Posted: 6/1/07

University students will soon be able to access wireless Internet from anywhere across the city of Philadelphia.

The University announced plans May 24 to offer free wireless Internet access across the city to anyone with a Drexel username as part of one-year trial program.

Earthlink, which already provides wireless Internet access to the city, will allow University students and staff to login anywhere that Earthlink provides wireless in Philadelphia.

"Now, in 2007, the university is extending the boundaries of its campus wireless network service to include the entire city limits," said an e-mail from Ken Blackney, associate vice president for core technology infrastructure.

Blackney explained the Earthlink access speed will be capped at three megabytes per second for downloads and one megabyte per second for uploads.

This differs from Drexel's on-campus Dragonfly network where speed depends on usage and network traffic.

"Dragonfly performance could be as much as 15 times faster. Given its speed and time advantages, anyone on campus should take advantage of Dragonfly while they use Earthlink while away from Drexel," Blackney said.

Although the Earthlink service will have citywide reach, it is not intended as a replacement for a traditional Internet service provider according to Blackney.

The Earthlink service would only be free for a maximum of five hours each month with additional hours available for purchase from Earthlink.

"This agreement provides for casual use of the network while off-campus, not a replacement for Verizon DSL or Comcast cable modem," Blackney said.

The program extends beyond Philadelphia with Drexel users being able to access the network while outside the city.

"When traveling, Dragonfly users will be able to access Earthlink wireless networks in other cities throughout the United States," said University President Constantine Papadakis in a press release.

Philadelphia is developing the largest municipal wireless network in the United States and Drexel has a part of this process since its start in 2005.

"Drexel immediately contacted the City to investigate how we could cooperate on the project," Blackney said. "As the project took shape, Drexel participated in the evaluation of the bids from companies wanting to build and operate the network."

In March 2006, Mayor John Street signed a contract with Earthlink to bring wireless Internet to every neighborhood in the city.

Drexel has operated its own wireless network since 2000 and is one of the largest wireless networks in the world with 28,000 registered connections, according to a University press release.

For the now the program remains a pilot, and officials said the future of the Earthlink agreement would depend on use.

"If the uptake rate among students and faculty proves the need for such a service, Drexel will investigate a continuation beyond the one-year mark," said Blackney.

The contract with Earthlink beyond the first year trial period relies on the amount of use by Drexel, according to Blackney.