« Security Standard 802.11i Ratified | Main | Aero-Conferencing on Lufthansa »

June 24, 2004

Three Municipal Wireless Networks Foreshadow Future

By Glenn Fleishman

Bob Brewin dives into three cities that are deploying large-area Wi-Fi networks for public-safety-only and mixed-use purposes: Spokane has unwired 100 city blocks, Rio Rancho claims over a 100 square miles, and Cook County ultimately expects nearly 1,000 square miles of coverage for public safety in Chicago and surrounding areas.

The movement shows that municipal Wi-Fi has moved from a curiosity explored without many concrete goals—let’s bring more people into downtown and see what happens, for instance—into a critical part in managing emergency response for fire, police, and medical personnel. When major incidents hit, the critical question is how well these networks perform, especially compared to cellular, landline, and proprietary (and expensive) public-safety band equipment.

Spokane and Rio Rancho will offer public access to the network, while Cook County is focusing purely on public safety. Cook County’s routers can switch to cellular or satellite networks as needed.

Posted by Glennf at June 24, 2004 2:36 PM

Categories: Municipal

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
https://db.isbn.nu/mt3/mt-tb.pl/2217

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Three Municipal Wireless Networks Foreshadow Future:

» Three Municipal Wireless Networks Foreshadow Future from CSL Blog
Three Municipal Wireless Networks Foreshadow Future @ Wi-Fi Networking News. [Read More]

Tracked on June 25, 2004 2:16 PM

» First-responders go wireless from Corante New York
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has selected Unisys Corporation's CommHub (a secure wireless technology) to help its emergency response teams coordinate activities. Over the past six months, a number of other municipalities have also expe... [Read More]

Tracked on December 17, 2004 7:15 AM

Comments