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Philadelphia Acquires Wi-Fi Network for Public Safety (12/22/09)
The city of Philadelphia said it will purchase the existing Tropos-based wireless IP broadband mesh network installed in the city from Network Acquisition Co. (NAC). The network was initially installed by EarthLink but was never fully deployed. The city plans to complete the deployment process and use the network for improving a wide range of municipal services and offering free public hot zones in select locations.
“Acquiring these assets is a major step forward for the city,” said Philadelphia Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Allan Frank. “With this investment, we will have the capability to build a robust public-safety and municipal network, enhancing public-safety and government operations, and achieving long-term savings for the taxpayer. This is a win-win for Philadelphia.”
Funding for the network’s purchase is a combination of $1.5 million from homeland-security grants and $500,000 from the city’s public- safety funds. The city expects to save $9 million in operating expenses over a five-year period.
Mobile city workers across a variety of departments will use the network. The high-speed network access will allow them to file reports and access information from the field, improving efficiencies and lowering data communications service costs. The Department of Public Safety plans to use the network for centralized, real-time monitoring of video cameras, enabling officers to respond faster to problems. Officers will also use the network to access crime databases and submit reports from the field so they can spend more time in the community rather than behind a desk, improving community safety.
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