After two years of work and $5 million in capital sales tax and improvement funds, Oklahoma City announced in June 2008 the launch of its own city-wide WiFi network. The network, sprawling across 555 square miles, was intended for public safety and city use.
At the time, city officials and vendor Tropos Networks trumpeted the effort as "the largest city owned and operated municipal Wi-Fi mesh network in the world."
Today it seems the Oklahoma City network remains a major victory for both Tropos and the city itself. In a press release dated July 24, Tropos crowed: "Three years ago, Oklahoma City launched the world's largest municipal wireless broadband network, which covers 555 square miles and is based upon Tropos Networks' market leading products. Since then, the network has been adopted as the primary network used by all city departments with mobile workers, and has enabled significant cost savings and efficiency gains."
The network is currently handling more than 4 terabytes of traffic each month, according to Mark Meier, chief technology officer for Oklahoma City, who estimated the city has derived "approximately $10 million in value to date" from the effort.
The Oklahoma City network handles a range of applications, including computer-aided dispatch, Web-based crime database access and video monitoring.
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