The "curve," said CDW Government in a release, is a quantitative, relative index of investment in wireless 802.11 technologies. Wireless technology investment is a single component of the people, processes and technologies required to bring wireless networking capabilities to cities, counties and states.
States have realized the significant benefits of wireless technologies. Municipal wireless networks provide widespread Internet connectivity to select user groups, increasing government workers' mobility and productivity, as well as improving citizen services.
Further, redundant connection points facilitate continuity of operations in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency situation. Numerous public safety offices are integrating common wired solutions into the wireless networks, such as video surveillance, delivering a powerful, mobile response tool that enables first responders to handle emergency situations with current information and even live feeds to cameras monitoring the incident.
"Investment in wireless technologies is an important step in driving improved collaboration and information sharing while reducing networking costs for state and local government agencies," said Alan Weiss, CDW-G director of public sector sales, state and local government. "At this point, however, state and local government leaders do not have a unified framework for assessing wireless technology investments across different states and multiple levels of government."
Looking specifically at the lead and early investor states, CDW-G and interviewees in state, county and municipal governments identified common elements that lead to more aggressive investments in 802.11 wireless technologies, including:
- Strong public-private partnerships
- Significant private-sector leadership in generating wireless hotspots
- Initiatives often led by public safety
- Strong execution at the county and city levels.
