"This is a market-driven model that allows every resident, business and visitor the opportunity to have high-speed broadband access, anywhere in our City - turning Anaheim into a truly unwired City," said Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, who introduced the idea at his 2005 State of the City address.

Under the proposal, EarthLink would receive an exclusive franchise to mount, install, operate and maintain certain of its equipment in areas approved by Anaheim on certain streetlight poles and  traffic signal poles.  It would utilize Anaheim's fiber to connect certain radio antennas to its Internet point of presence to create a privately owned and operated City-wide broadband wireless network. EarthLink will use a Wi-Fi mesh networking system from Tropos Networks to implement ubiquitous coverage over the City. 

Unlike other municipal models that have been proposed recently, the Anaheim-EarthLink agreement, if approved, would be the first public-private wireless broadband franchise that grants a private entity the ability to create, implement and maintain a citywide Wi-Fi network. 

The City will allow EarthLink to use certain City facilities within the public rights-of-way to create the wireless network.  EarthLink will utilize the City's streetlight and traffic signal poles to mount Tropos MetroMesh routers.  The end result will be high-speed wireless connectivity to the Internet from anywhere in the City for individuals who have contracted with the franchisee. EarthLink will have control over the actual rates charged and the services offered, as dictated by the customers.

EarthLink will pay Anaheim a pole attachment fee, the cost of consumed electricity and a lease payment for fiber connections used.  The City of Anaheim also will be allowed access to the EarthLink network at a discounted rate in order to enhance service delivery and to create redundancy for the City's own wireless network.  The City has already begun deployment of its specific Wi-Fi system for its public safety and field operations personnel.  Funded by the Department of Homeland Security's Urban Area Security Initiative, it will allow access to systems now only viewable from an office computer, empowering Anaheim field personnel with information previously unavailable.

The City's objectives are to create a City-wide system that provides adequate coverage; competitive rates through market competition; frequent technology upgrades; aesthetic deployment; minimization of City expense and involvement.

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ABOUT TROPOS NETWORKS, INC. - Tropos Networks is the proven leader in delivering truly ubiquitous, metro-scale Wi-Fi mesh network systems. We deliver the fastest, lowest cost and simplest wireless broadband access solutions, as demonstrated by the world's largest installed base of metro-scale Wi-Fi mesh networks. Our innovative MetroMesh(tm) architecture with our patented Predictive Wireless Routing Protocol (PWRP(tm)) allows public safety agencies, municipalities and service providers to quickly and easily deliver city-wide fixed and mobile multi-megabit connectivity for IP-based voice, video and data applications. PWRP is the first and only metro-scale optimized, radio-agnostic, wireless mesh routing protocol, which does with routing software what other approaches attempt to do with expensive hardware. The result is 10x better price/performance than any other approach to the broadband last mile. Tropos Networks is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, please visit www.tropos.com, call 408-331-6800 or write to info@tropos.com.

Tropos Networks, Tropos, MetroMesh, PWRP and Metro-Scale Mesh Networking Defined are trademarks of Tropos Networks, Inc. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holder(s).

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ABOUT EARTHLINK:  "EarthLink. We revolve around youTM." As the nation's next generation Internet service provider, Atlanta-based EarthLink has earned an award-winning reputation for outstanding customer service and its suite of online products and services. Serving over five million subscribers, EarthLink offers what every user should expect from their Internet experience: high-quality connectivity, minimal online intrusions, and customizable features. Whether it's dial-up, high-speed, voice, web hosting, wireless or "EarthLink Extras" like home networking or security, EarthLink provides the tools that best let individuals use and enjoy the Internet on their own terms. Learn more about EarthLink by calling (800) EARTHLINK or visiting EarthLink's Web site at www.EarthLink.net.

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ABOUT ANAHEIM - The City of Anaheim, founded in 1857, is one of the nation's premier municipalities and is California's 10th most populous city. Anaheim covers 50 square miles with more than 345,500 residents and more than 3,200 City employees. The municipal corporation's annual budget is $1.4 billion. Anaheim supports a thriving business community with companies such as Carl Karcher Enterprises, Inc., L-3 Communications, Pacific Sunwear, and Disneyland Resort. Successful sports franchises call Anaheim home, including Angels Baseball, Anaheim Ducks, the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal winning U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team, and the 2008 Olympic Silver Medal winning U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team. Anaheim also boasts world-class meeting and entertainment venues with the Anaheim Convention Center, the largest on the west coast, Honda Center, The Grove of Anaheim, The Shops at Anaheim GardenWalk, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Annually, Anaheim welcomes millions of visitors to the city, truly making it where the world comes to live, work and play. For more information, please visit www.anaheim.net.