The AP and News.com report that Phila.'s city council has moved contracts forward: The contracts are not yet executed by the city council, but they were approved in committee with diversity language added for subcontractor arrangements EarthLink will make. The contract was awarded in October and the negotiations and city council wrangling have been going on since. The council could vote on the bill May 11, and are likely to pass it in this form. EarthLink's exec Don Berryman is quoted noting that the network could be built within 18 months of the city council's vote. However, this excludes any provision for the 15-square-mile test network that must be built and, if found lacking, the rework that has to happen then to build out the full town.
Meanwhile, Google's tests are showing they need to have what sounds like denser access point deployment in Mountain View: Google says the launch is still scheduled for June, but a Mountain View official said there might be delays taking it to July or beyond. The Mountain View network will be free.