W2i Announces Digital Cities Joint State Briefing in Tallahassee
Community-broadband field practitioners and state and local officials meet for a wide-ranging discussion on broadband-wireless infrastructure and key application drivers.
Boston. 03/06/2008 —
To provide local authorities and state-level wireless and public-safety stakeholders with a firsthand understanding of broadband-wireless infrastructure planning, applications and services, the Wireless Internet Institute will host the W2i Digital Cities Joint State Briefing in Tallahassee, Florida, on March 26, in cooperation with the State of Florida’s Department of Management Services (DMS).
This day-long thought-leadership forum will focus on community broadband-wireless initiatives around Florida and southern Georgia and is an opportunity for local-government field practitioners, state-level officials, and industry experts to meet for a wide-ranging discussion on leading application drivers and the role of state and federal government in facilitating these initiatives.
"Florida recognizes the major role that wireless is going to play in the next-generation network deployment strategy, not only for state government and public safety, but also for rural access and economic development," said Charles Ghini, DMS Director of Telecommunications and Radio Services, and conference co-chair. "With Florida’s resources increasing for the integration and deployment of wireless communication, this is a perfect time for our capital city to host this critical meeting."
"W2i embraces the opportunity to host the Digital Cities Convention in Tallahassee in recognition of the Florida's leadership on public-safety interoperability as well as the numerous broadband initiatives of its local communities," said Daniel Aghion, Executive Director, Wireless Internet Institute, and conference co-chair. "W2i welcomes broadband-wireless project leaders, local authorities, and state officials to this briefing."
BackgroundThe promise of local-government broadband-wireless networks for cities, counties and regions raises several questions for project champions and stakeholders:
- What is the core value proposition for local communities?
- How do we do appropriate risk assessment for the technology, business models, time to completion, etc.?
- How do communities obtain funding, and what are the federally driven policies and federal-agency actions that are finally beginning to exert their influence on the marketplace?
- What is the role of state government in evaluating opportunities and administering funds?
- What is the vision for public-safety interoperability in Florida, and how can citywide wireless facilitate? What are the requirements? What are the business models? Where are the dollars?
Attendees of the Digital Cities Joint State Briefing in Tallahassee will share “promising practices” at roundtables on:
- Mesh-Enabled Security and Surveillance
- Public-Safety Interoperability
- Broadband Wireless and Transportation
- Cost-Reducing Applications for Local Government
This day-long event will take place at the Ramada Inn & Conference Center in Tallahassee. Individuals interested to attend should register at W2i.com. About W2i and the Digital Cities SeriesThe Wireless Internet Institute (W2i) is an independent forum bringing together stakeholders around the world to accelerate the adoption of wireless Internet in support of better managed and safer cities, communities and regions. W2i's 2008 events include a thought-leadership conference exploring the planning and deployment of broadband-wireless infrastructure; practical training for local authorities; roundtables on key application drivers; the annual Wireless Communities Best-Practices Awards; and a Technology Showcase produced in partnership with the public sector and private sector. Building on conferences in Philadelphia, Shanghai, San Francisco, Bilbão, Houston, Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles, London, Chicago, Seoul, and São Paulo, planning is in final stages for Tallahassee, Florida, (March 26) and Riverside, California, (May 13).
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