Philadelphia residents could enjoy citywide high-speed wireless Internet service as early as spring 2007, as the city has finalized a 10-year deal with Internet provider Earthlink Inc. to deploy the network.

Atlanta-based Earthlink Inc. spokesman Dan Greenfield said the company could spend between $10 and $15 million to build the wireless Internet infrastructure over a 135-square-mile area in Philadelphia.

Earthlink will begin immediately with a trial phase, deploying the network in a 15-square-mile area in northeast Philadelphia.

"We hope to have it up and running by early next year," Mr. Greenfield said.

Earthlink will own the network and charge a wholesale rate of $9 a month to other Internet service providers that would resell the services to the public, according to Dianah Neff, Philadelphia's chief information officer and head of Wireless Philadelphia. The contract, she said, will go before the City Council for approval in February. Ms. Neff added that the city is in talks with six ISPs interested in reselling the service.

Philadelphia was the first large city to announce plans to build a wireless Internet network and provide low-cost rates to residents as a way to span the digital divide. Since then, several smaller cities have deployed citywide wireless Internet networks and other large cities are exploring the issue. Anaheim, Calif., is close to completing a citywide Wi-Fi network, while cities such as Portland, Ore., San Francisco and New York City are in talks to deploy a network or are in the building stages.

Pittsburgh announced plans to deploy wireless Internet through the Downtown area last summer but the discussions have stalled.