The city of San Jose, California says it’s reached a tentative agreement with AT&T to install 170 small cells this year. City officials say the small cells will upgrade voice and data capacity for businesses and residents. The city council is likely to take up the proposal at its May 1 meeting.
The city anticipates receiving a total of $5 million in lease revenue over the next 15 years from AT&T for its “digital inclusion projects,” part of an effort to offer affordable broadband to low-income residents. To help accelerate the deployment, AT&T agreed to remit a portion of its required permit fees upfront and give the city a $1 million grant, reports Government Technology.
Dolan Beckel, San Jose’s director of innovation and digital strategy, tells Government Technology, the move will also expand capacity for the FirstNet emergency responder communications network. “Right now as the city’s emergency responders use FirstNet, they’re running on the existing network we all use. What we’re doing is we’re making the swimming pool bigger in the event that the emergency responders need it.”
April 26, 2018
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