Citing a failure to find a buyer for the troubled city-wide Wi-Fi network, EarthLink unlinks Philly.Muni Wi-Fi. The idea is a great one. Free access in downtown areas for all. It will promote tourism, spark business, and serve the under-served.

Unless it doesn't work, or no one can afford to pay for it.

That was the case in Philadelphia. It was one of the first major municipal Wi-Fi projects announced in the United States, forging, at least on paper, a brand new wireless world. Then reality set in.

Routers cost money. So does cabling. So does manpower. So does electricity. In the end, the system was going to end up costing Philadelphia area taxpayers millions of dollars per year.

EarthLink has discovered, much to its chagrin, that muni Wi-Fi projects are failing all over the country. It has recently closed, sold, or handed off networks in Milpitas, Calif., New Orleans, La., and Corpus Christi, Texas. That it struggled to keep the dream alive in Philly is a testament to the power behind the idea.

In any event, EarthLink is giving customers until June 12 to find another broadband provider, then it is pulling the switch.

"It's been an unfortunate situation," Chief Executive Officer Rolla Huff told The Associated Press. "It was a great idea a few years ago, ... but it's an idea that simply didn't make it."