Buffalo, New York has issued two Requests for Proposals: one for the deployment of a municipal wireless broadband network and the other for a wireless security camera network to be used by the Buffalo police department. Buffalo’s public tender is a good example of how a city can use a Wi-Fi network to improve municipal operations and provide public access at the same time. Buffalo, New York has issued an RFP for the construction of a municipal wireless broadband network and a companion RFP for a wireless security camera network. To download the RFPs and view the map where the cameras will be mounted, go to the city’s website.
For the citywide Wi-Fi network, the winning bidder must open the network on a wholesale basis to other ISPs. The city will not use public funds to build the network, but it will compensate the provider for municipal use (similar to Houston and Minneapolis).
The wireless security camera network RFP is a companion project and ultimately will be integrated into the citywide Wi-Fi project. The city will also pay the winning bidder for the camera network.
The citywide wireless broadband network is designed to provide citywide wireless internet coverage as well as a data transport mechanism for remote data collections into centralized systems such as the Buffalo Police Department’s wireless security camera network. However, to make an aggressive on-time installation of October 1, 2007 and delivery schedule of the network, the city is willing to accept a network that uses the 4.9 GHz radio frequency to accomplish the data transport aspects of this project. In the long term, the city expects the wireless cameras to use the communications facilities of the citywide network.
The city plans to use the network to provide services to its citizens “by being able to connect its field workers online in a real time fashion to the City’s systems of record. This real time connection will eliminate duplicate data entry effort and speed up City processes by having field-generated data available quicker.”
Public safety is a priority for the city. In addition to the wireless camera network, they plan to install a “gun shot detection system that will utilize the municipal wireless broadband network to transmits detected gunshots to the Police Department.”
The deadline for responses (to both RFPs) is 15 June 2007. There will be a Pre-Proposal Conference on Tuesday, May 15, 2007 from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon in the Auditorium of the Albright Knox Art Gallery, 1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14222.
Click here to go to the Buffalo, NY RFP webpage.
The City of Buffalo Wireless Broadband and Camera RFPs webpage has been changed to http://www.city-buffalo.com/buffalo_wireless. Thanks.