The City applied for grant money from the State of Georgia that has been allocated for the Wireless Communities Georgia (WCG) program. The City was informed in January 2008 that it received $323,298. This money, along with the grant match and additional budgetary funds, will be used to cover the cost of the network infrastructure and engineering services associated with the deployment of the network. The City is very excited to be a grant recipient and believes that this will accelerate its broadband initiative.

The City is seeking a service provider that will build, operate and maintain a wireless broadband network. The City is not committed to a particular technology, but rather is focused on applications and user groups.

Some of the applications and user groups that this network may provide service for include the following:

• Fixed and mobile broadband access for students, residents, businesses and municipal employees
• Public safety applications for police and fire
• Digital Inclusion
• Remote work order management for public works employees
• Video surveillance

The RFP and pertinent attachments are available via the links on the left of this page. The City anticipates great interest from ISPs, system integrators and other entities that desire to partner with the City in this initiative.

Further questions about this project can be addressed to Seth LaVine with the City's IT Department.