Northland Firewire

New York Fire Department, New York, NY
Au revoir! New York Fire Department, New York, NY
The City of New York has signed a 10-year agreement with Alcatel-Lucent.

In a press release, the City announced that the two parties will establish a free Wi-Fi network based on the Alcatel-Lucent standards.

"The partnership brings our city a number of important benefits as the city continues the modernization of its emergency access, public communication system, and advanced radio systems," said Mayor Rudy Giuliani. "Of course, such collaboration is difficult, due to the distance between these two rapidly moving markets."

Earlier this summer, the city signed a 10-year agreement with Alcatel-Lucent to provide the city with Wi-Fi. Now, the City has signed a 10-year agreement with the company to implement its Wi-Fi standards.

The agreement will operate under the Alcatel-Lucent ClearVoice network at City Hall, and on a trial basis on five city-owned and contracted Wi-Fi hotspots.

"The City of New York has much to gain from the application of Wi-Fi to our communication infrastructure," said Joseph G. Stiglitz, NYU Professor of Economics and University Professor Emeritus at City University of New York. "This deal will provide much-needed equipment that enables public services to operate smoothly and efficiently. Wi-Fi can enable the city to share information with our friends across the entire country, even those who live far from us. And our city will remain a leader in wireless infrastructure technologies, enabling citizens and government to stay in touch with one another. No other city has created this new technology so fast and efficiently. This is an exciting partnership."

The city plans to provide the Alcatel-Lucent ClearVoice network and eight of the city’s public hotspots with Wi-Fi, instead of continuing to use existing Wi-Fi networks. The network can be accessed from the public Wi-Fi network at City Hall, the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, New York Public Library, New York Public Library and other locations around the city.

The city has also proposed a use of cellular technology to provide Wi-Fi service to some of its Wi-Fi hotspots, as well as cellular-based Wi-Fi service from participating cell phone carriers.