USA TODAY

Well, it looks like Philadelphia’s on-again, off-again WiFi network won’t be going dark for good quite just yet, as The Philadelphia Inquirer is now reporting that a group of local investors are stepping in to keep it aloft. While complete details are a bit light at the moment, the new company is apparently at least considering going with an advertising-supported business model that’d provide free access wherever the network is available, as opposed to the $20 a month Earthlink was charging for the service. To bolster that potentially losing proposition a bit, the company will also apparently be going after institutional subscribers like hospitals and universities, who’d be offered the opportunity to extend their own secure wireless networks into the city.

[Thanks Brad L, image courtesy of Stippling]