<p>Earthlink Inc. says it will study the performance of its citywide wireless Internet networks in four cities _ Philadelphia, New Orleans and California's Anaheim and Milpitas _ before deciding how to move forward with similar municipal Wi-Fi networks elsewhere.</p><p>While more cities are expressing interest in striking deals with the company, Earthlink is "not yet able to establish that comfort level" that the investments are really profitable, Kevin Dotts, chief financial officer for the Atlanta-based company, said Thursday.</p><p>That doesn't mean Earthlink is pulling the plug on cities under contract, like Houston, which would eventually be the nation's largest network at about 600 square miles, Dotts said. Instead, the company wants to review a range of factors to determine where it would be most profitable to invest what Dotts estimates are up to $40 million a year in capital expenditure.</p><p>Factors include topography _ less dense cities like Atlanta are harder to cover; concentration of households; and alternative revenues like electronic gas reading services, Dotts said. He added the company will closely study the four designated markets over the next few months before defining its strategy. He said it will probably focus any expansion on large metropolitan areas like Chicago.</p><p>Also Thursday, Earthlink announced it posted a loss of $29.9 million, or 24 cents per share, in the latest period. A year ago, it had reported earnings of $16.3 million, or 12 cents per share.</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x1cd9b6c)</p>
