Fifteen communities have joined together as part of a US Ignite Smart Gigabit Communities initiative. The goal is to create a national network of Smart Gigabit Communities that will leverage next-generation Internet and Smart City technologies to keep pace with rapidly changing technology and economic conditions.
US Ignite is providing the 15 participating communities with relevant information, education and resources for funding and deployment in order to help realize the new program’s goals. With US Ignite’s help, each community is to develop two gigabit network applications or public services that address community needs and issues and sha.re them among Smart Gigabit Communities members.
Smart Gigabit Communities
Communities participating in US Ignite’s new program include:
- Burlington, VT.
- Chattanooga and Jackson, TN.
- Cleveland, OH.
- Flint, MI.
- Kansas City, KS and MO.
- Madison, WI.
- North Carolina Next Generation Network (NCNGN.
- Richardson, TX.
- Utah Wasatch Front cities including Salt Lake City and Provo, UT.
- Lafayette, LA.
- Urbana-Champaign, IL.
- Austin, TX.
US Ignite staff will assist the communities in deploying ultra-fast, low-latency networks with ‘locovore’ – local or edge cloud computing and storage – capabilities. US Ignite expects the gigabit network applications and public services to be ¨highly interactive¨ and ¨visually immersive¨ and capable of providing experiences not possible on today’s commercial Internet.
“This program is a pivotal moment for Smart Community application development,” US Ignite co-founder and CTO Glenn Ricart was quoted in a news release. “The benefits of each community’s program will be amplified by this network of Smart Gigabit Communities.
The program, Ricart added, is an example of ¨innovation in a 15-community consortium where each community’s contribution is multiplied by 15! We look forward to working with each team in each community on their exciting projects.”
Image courtesy of flickr user Michael Seljos.
