Brookline selects Wi-Fi proposal and schedules public hearing
The Town of Brookline has selected a proposal for a public private partnership to build a municipal wireless network and scheduled a public hearing for Monday April 10 at 7:30 PM in the community room in the public safety building.
For the last eight months I have had the pleasure of working at town hall on muni Wi-Fi and some other IT projects. A combination of forward thinking ciitizens, dedicated staff, and enthusiastic elected officials has fueled the wireless initiative that promises to be the first comprehensive muni Wi-Fi network in the area. The town hopes to have the network up by mid fall.
The multipurpose network will provide residents and local businesses with a new pipe for broadband services while offering free community access in commercial districts, parks, and public housing, as well as for municipal and public safety workers. The network will be open, allowing numerous providers to compete for wireless broadband customers.
The selected propsoal which is still up for final negotiations, is from Galaxy Internet Services (a MA based ISP) and NeoReach (behind WAZ networks including Tempe, NV). The network will utilize equipment from SkyPilot that offers simultaneous use of 2.4, 4.9, and 5.8 GHz frequencies for Wi-Fi, public safety, and backhaul (respectively).