The City of Miami is the third northeast Oklahoma municipality to join a trust authority aimed at providing high-speed broadband services to rural communities with a population under 20,000.
Miami joins Vinita and Pryor as charter members of the Community Communication Authority. As a result, the three municipalities will have permanent seats on the authority’s five-member board. They will also be involved in the selection of two at-large board members.
The planned broadband network will be managed by Cherokee Connex, according to Ron Gates, president of the company. Business Finance & Development LLC, of Tulsa will seek funding for the program through a federal loan program designed to enhance first responder and homeland security programs in rural areas.
“This community facilities program will help save lives through faster dispatch times, live video, remote surveillance 24 hours a day, telemedicine capabilities and collaboration with other communities,” Gates said.
Under the public-private partnership, the trust will have ownership of the network, with its main responsibility locating land for towers and providing access to current infrastructure — utility poles, water towers, etc.
“There is no risk to the city with this trust,” city attorney Erik Johnson said. “The network will operate as long as it serves a public purpose.”
Alan Holt with the Oklahoma Municipal Service Corporation, the business extension of the Oklahoma Municipal League, said there is no out-of-pocket costs or up-front expenses for the city.
“If they can’t get the funding, then the project simply goes away,” Holt said. “If Ron can’t make the project profitable, then he goes broke and the trust will be left with a lot of equipment they can contract with some else to manage or sell. Nobody is getting a pot of money to just go out and spend. This is all built around doing what they say we are going to do.”
In addition to providing enhanced services to first responders, the proposed network will also improve educational and economic development opportunities in the area.
According to Gates, the “pure digital network” will enhance education through:
# Faster download speeds.
# Access anywhere in the city.
# Access to more applications.
# Increased access to data and/or research.
# Enhanced distance learning opportunities.
# Video and live Web casts.
Brian Barger, the city’s economic development officer, said the proposed network would be an asset in attracting companies to the area.
“We need this type of technology to put us ahead of other communities our size or smaller that do not have this type of technology,” Barger said. “Companies want this type of technology and this will give us another recruitment tool.”
While the network is designed to offer services to business and residential customers, the first priority will always be first responders.
“In the event of a catastrophe, first responders have priority over the network,” Gates said. “Anyone on the system at the time of such a catastrophe will be automatically booted off. This network is never down. We will have generators and battery backups to keep it going at all times.”
http://www.miaminewsrecord.com/articles/2005/11/25/news/news1.txt
Miami joins Vinita and Pryor as charter members of the Community Communication Authority. As a result, the three municipalities will have permanent seats on the authority’s five-member board. They will also be involved in the selection of two at-large board members.
The planned broadband network will be managed by Cherokee Connex, according to Ron Gates, president of the company. Business Finance & Development LLC, of Tulsa will seek funding for the program through a federal loan program designed to enhance first responder and homeland security programs in rural areas.
“This community facilities program will help save lives through faster dispatch times, live video, remote surveillance 24 hours a day, telemedicine capabilities and collaboration with other communities,” Gates said.
Under the public-private partnership, the trust will have ownership of the network, with its main responsibility locating land for towers and providing access to current infrastructure — utility poles, water towers, etc.
“There is no risk to the city with this trust,” city attorney Erik Johnson said. “The network will operate as long as it serves a public purpose.”
Alan Holt with the Oklahoma Municipal Service Corporation, the business extension of the Oklahoma Municipal League, said there is no out-of-pocket costs or up-front expenses for the city.
“If they can’t get the funding, then the project simply goes away,” Holt said. “If Ron can’t make the project profitable, then he goes broke and the trust will be left with a lot of equipment they can contract with some else to manage or sell. Nobody is getting a pot of money to just go out and spend. This is all built around doing what they say we are going to do.”
In addition to providing enhanced services to first responders, the proposed network will also improve educational and economic development opportunities in the area.
According to Gates, the “pure digital network” will enhance education through:
# Faster download speeds.
# Access anywhere in the city.
# Access to more applications.
# Increased access to data and/or research.
# Enhanced distance learning opportunities.
# Video and live Web casts.
Brian Barger, the city’s economic development officer, said the proposed network would be an asset in attracting companies to the area.
“We need this type of technology to put us ahead of other communities our size or smaller that do not have this type of technology,” Barger said. “Companies want this type of technology and this will give us another recruitment tool.”
While the network is designed to offer services to business and residential customers, the first priority will always be first responders.
“In the event of a catastrophe, first responders have priority over the network,” Gates said. “Anyone on the system at the time of such a catastrophe will be automatically booted off. This network is never down. We will have generators and battery backups to keep it going at all times.”
http://www.miaminewsrecord.com/articles/2005/11/25/news/news1.txt
