No Wires, No Plugs: Just Access By WiFi

Other benefits to the city include 500 free accounts for municipal employees, such as police officers and housing inspectors, who are frequently on the road. Police officers already have laptops in their cars. The city will be able to buy additional government accounts at deep discounts.

EarthLink also will provide discounted accounts of $9.95 per month to 2,700 low-income city residents. Fifer said he is unsure how people will qualify for the discounted accounts, but the city hopes to find interested residents by partnering with community agencies that already work with low-income residents.

Alexandria City's public schools, which already provide laptops to all ninth- through 12th-graders, also will benefit. Students now can connect to the school network to have access the Internet, turn in homework online or perform other functions, but only at school. EarthLink will connect the schools to the wireless network, giving students access the school network from their homes.

"This essentially extends the school network to every student's home," Fifer said. "It means all students can access the Internet for free if they don't have an existing Internet connection."

Fifer said the city selected EarthLink from among 10 private-sector aspirants because of the company's financial strength, its wireless experience and the benefits it will provide to the city and residents.

"Alexandria is a progressive city, and we try to pay close attention to how technology can benefit our residents and businesses," Fifer said. "This is just another amenity we can offer."

Building the network will be relatively easy: About 500 devices the size of breadboxes will be installed, mostly on street lights, but also on traffic signals, poles and roofs.

"They're very unobtrusive," Fife said. "Most people won't even notice the construction."

EarthLink is hoping to recover its $2.7 million capital investment and to make money by selling accounts. Tolpegin said the company sought out the city because of Alexandria's attractive demographics and its proximity to the District.

"It's a great market," he said. "It can act as a base for expansion in Northern Virginia."