SAN JOSE, Calif. — Metricom Inc., a wireless high-speed Internet provider that filed for bankruptcy protection last month, is shutting down its Ricochet network and laying off 282 employees.
The network will be turned off Wednesday in all 15 markets — including Salt Lake City — where service is currently offered, according to a news release late Thursday. An auction of Metricom's assets is scheduled for Aug. 16.
A skeletal work force will oversee the liquidation of the company through October.
The sale includes the Ricochet network in the cities where the company offered its wireless service and two where infrastructure was in place. Also included are patents related to the service and wireless licenses.
In a posting on its Web site, the company said the business could be sold as a whole or in parts.
Earlier Thursday, Metricom said it had received notice that its stock would be delisted from the NASDAQ Stock Market effective Friday. Trading was suspended July 2, the day of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
At the time, the company said it was running dangerously low on cash.
"As a result of the depressed state of the capital markets, we have been unable to raise necessary additional capital," said then-interim chief executive Ralph C. Derrickson.
Ricochet, once applauded by users and analysts for providing broadband without wires, runs at a speed of up to 128 kilobits per second, more than twice that of a regular dial-up modem but slower than most digital subscriber lines and cable modems.
Still, Ricochet, which cost up to $69.95 a month or more, is faster than cellular phone modems.
Ricochet service is transmitted from small boxes mounted every few blocks on lamp posts and traffic lights. Users could connect with notebook, desktop and handheld computers using either an external modem or internal PC card.
The network was built up in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington.
In June, the company announced it was cutting 23 percent of its staff, or 139 employees. Earlier in the year, it had cut 179 employees.
In February, the company postponed plans to launch its service nationally.