Smart Gigabit Community Network Announced

US Ignite announced a national network of Smart Gigabit Communities in a June 14 blog post. The nonprofit, committed to supporting the development of applications and solutions that benefit the public, listed 13 cities and two states that have earned the designation.

1. Austin, Texas
2. Burlington, Vt.
3. Chattanooga, Tenn.
4. Cleveland
5. Detroit
6. Flint, Mich.
7. Jackson, Tenn.
8. Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo.
9. Lafayette, La.
10. Madison, Wis.
11. North Carolina Ignite
12. Phoenix
13. Richardson, Texas
14. Urbana and Champaign, Ill.
15. Utah Ignite

Each jurisdiction has shown a commitment to developing smart city solutions that leverage the power of gigabit Internet to help the public sector keep pace in this rapidly evolving economy. To be considered for this network, each community has either developed or is in the process of developing two gigabit applications, or has used gigabit Internet to provide technology solutions to community problems.

Members of the network will receive education and resources from US Ignite and in return agree to share their technology with the other communities that were selected.

“The benefits of each community’s program will be amplified by this network of Smart Gigabit Communities. …  Each community’s contribution is multiplied by 15,” explained Glenn Ricart, co-founder and CTO of US Ignite.

The Smart Gigabit Communities program represents a partnership between US Ignite and the National Science Foundation.