Louisiana: Lafayette Fiber Shows How a Muni Initiative is Won

How David beat Goliath Going straight to the source is always the best. In this article, a local paper goes in depth to describe how Lafayette was successful in taking on the big boys. This is the best, most detailed How-To-Guide article for city network wannabes that I've read in a while. I'd read this, then read it again, then go back and take notes.

Posted on August 04, 2005 at 04:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Florida: From Miami Vice to Miami Nice - Miami Beach, that is

Wireless Miami Beach Check it out - the little town of Miami Beach has a potentially high-profile project that should be worth watching. They may be little, but a lot of money and tourists go through this "hot spot" each year. I can envision some killer tourist applications: Location-based services, maps, city guides, multilingual services, etc. As much excitement there is around deploying these networks, the really good stuff will come when we see new applications that affect how we live.

Posted on July 21, 2005 at 08:21 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Muni Broadband attracts attention

2theadvocate.com: News - LUS plan 'great ... venture' 07/01/05 Municipal Broadband is getting attention. As this article describes, Silicon Valley is watching municipal broadband deployments with great interest because of the impact it can have on the technology world. More and more applications will be available once networks are in place, and municipalities have the potential to drive this deployment.

Scott McNealy, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Sun Microsystems, said LUS's plan to build an ultra-fast fiber-optic network to each home and business in the city is "progressive and a great innovative venture."

"It's the talk of the Valley right now," McNealy said, adding that Sun's chief scientist is probably the "biggest evangelist (for the LUS plan) around the world."

LUS will ask voters on July 16 to approve up to $125 million in bonds to build the network, which will be used to provide low-cost phone, cable and high-speed Internet service.

Posted on July 02, 2005 at 08:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

One Cleveland

OneCleveland This website is an example of a community effort to integrate its technologies and provide for a future connected city.

Posted on June 29, 2005 at 05:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Florida: Case Studies on Municipal Broadband

I was looking through my files and came across a couple of good white papers that were circulated in Florida during the legislative debate a few months ago. I like them because they are well written and have good background information on the issue of municipally owned networks, and in particular, data on the economic benefits of a wireless broadband network for a city.

The Case for Municipal Broadband succinctly states the argument for municipal broadband.

Broadband Economic Development: An Economic Case Study is a more academic look at the economic impact of a municipal broadband network. Highly recommended because of the quantitative approach.

Posted on June 29, 2005 at 09:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

West Hollywood Unwires

Wireless Internet Pilot Project Gets Green Light West Hollywood announced that it will build a wireless network to make public high speed internet access available by the fall of 2005. The network, which will be designed and deployed by PCC Networks, will use metropolitan mesh gear from Tropos Networks mounted on traffic signals.

Posted on June 26, 2005 at 09:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Virginia: Small is Beautiful - How to Stretch $20K

Alexandria Goes Wireless On the Washington Post editorial page, an experiment in local government is detailed. City leaders in Alexandria, VA, just down the road from the US capital, have installed a test metropolitan mesh network using Tropos gear to experiment with city services, and opened it to the public for free broadband Internet service for part of Old Town, the downtown entertainment district. According to the editorial: The network, covering eight blocks of King Street, will serve as a laboratory for new technologies that could reduce costs and increase efficiency in years to come. Among the wireless innovations the city is exploring are sensors that can tell if a traffic light has stopped functioning and report instantaneously to traffic monitors. Advances in parking meter enforcement, fire truck and ambulance dispatching, and even trash collection could arise out of a citywide wireless network, but first Alexandria officials want to try out the new devices in a small area to see if they would be worthwhile investments. Could this be a model for cities to dip their toe in the water and let their citizens experiment as well? You bet it could! This kind of experiment is in any town's budget. Let's go, America!

Posted on June 16, 2005 at 09:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Municipal Debate Issues

Municipal Networks Take Broadband to the People June 2004. If a little dated, this article is fairly balanced and comprehensive in its look at municipal broadband networks, highlighting two business models: municipally-owned networks and networks created through a utility owned by the municipality.

Intel's Paul Butcher's Address to NYC Commission Paul Butcher, Marketing Manager for State and Local Government for Intel, has been a fixture at municipal wireless events almost as long as I can remember. Intel's support for this budding industry has been significant. This statement has great perspective on the potential of municipal networks to help cities operate better. Paul's comments are poignant and worth the read.

Posted on June 12, 2005 at 09:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Map of Municipal Wireless Projects in the US

Municipal broadband and wireless projects map | CNET News.com Check out your state and see how you compare!

Posted on June 12, 2005 at 05:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack