The WiFi contenders for Houston

Didn’t manage to get to this yesterday: We’re not officially down to two finalists for the city WiFi contract, but we’re close enough to tell who’s leading.

San Francisco-based EarthLink Municipal Networks, run by one of the nation’s largest high-speed Internet service providers, is already building in several cities. It’s going head-to-head with Convergent Broadband, a local group headed by former Reliant Energy CEO Don Jordan that has ties to business leaders in Houston.

“If everything is equal, there’s a preference for dealing with a vendor that has a strong local employment base and a commitment to the community,” said Mayor Bill White. “At the same time, when dealing with national firms, you’re able to evaluate their performance in other markets.”

White was speaking generally since he has not announced the two finalists.

He and other city officials have been mum about the vendor-selection process, which began with five bidders, but he said the announcement of a vendor could come as early as the end of this week.

Several sources involved in the process, who asked not to be identified for fear of damaging their relationship with the city, confirmed the two finalists are EarthLink and Convergent.

They certainly sounds like reasonable enough choices. I note that Earthlink’s experience with Philadelphia’s WiFi network was brought up, which counts as a plus in my book. Beyond that, I’ve not got a favorite. I’m just ready to see this project take the next step forward.

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