MetroFi is the latest service provider to exit the municipal wireless business. EarthLink has decided to shut down its network in Philadelphia and to stop the rollout of its network in Houston; Kite Networks, which had deployments in a number of municipalities, has gone bankrupt.

MetroFi had told Portland, its largest city project, that the company could not continue unless the city makes some financial contribution. In some cities like Minneapolis and Riverside, the city pays the provider for its own use of the network. In the cities where MetroFi and EarthLink have won projects, the cities wanted them to build out the network for free. MetroFi and EarthLink underestimated the cost of deploying the network and also the amount of money they would make (in the short term) from advertising and subscriptions.