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Tech Valley Communications presents...
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Mayor Jennings and Tech Valley Communications Provide City of Albany with the Season's First Present
Albany FreeNet to Provide Free Wireless Internet Access for Downtown Albany Residents, Visitors and Businesses
(ALBANY) – Downtown Albany is going wireless … for free.
Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings and Tech Valley Communications Chief Executive Officer Kevin O’Connor today unveiled Albany FreeNet, a free wireless internet access network for downtown Albany residents, visitors and businesspeople. Albany FreeNet comes about as a result of a grant from the New York State Department of Economic Development (Empire State Development) and a matching contribution of $200,000 in equipment, bandwidth and manpower from Tech Valley Communications, Albany’s only locally owned and operated telecommunications firm.
“This is a perfect holiday present to the people of Albany,” said Mayor Jennings. “Tech Valley Communications’ efforts will make working, shopping, living and playing in downtown Albany even more convenient and effortless. Just as importantly, this is a first step in providing internet access to everyone in our community, throughout all of the neighborhoods. We’re making Albany a Smart City by cutting the wires and thereby the barriers to accessing the internet which will make New York’s Capital City a more desirable destination.”
Albany FreeNet provides users one hour of free wireless internet connectivity each day (from each computer).
“We believe that this is an important project for our community. As the only telecommunications firm headquartered in downtown Albany, Tech Valley Communications felt it was clearly the right project for us to initiate. With the Mayor’s support, we obtained the grant and have built a fast and stable wireless access network for Downtown Albany’s central business district,” said O’Connor.
The City of Albany also allowed Tech Valley to install wireless access points on municipal buildings and facilities to provide for a larger coverage area.
Albany FreeNet is built on Tech Valley Communications’ proprietary fiber optic network, FirstLight, providing users with a very fast (up to 1 Gigabyte throughput) and stable connection. “We’ve invested millions of dollars in rebuilding the Region’s telecommunications infrastructure with our FirstLight fiber optic network and this is just one of the many benefits that the community will see from it,” said O’Connor.
Wireless access is provided using Cisco System’s 1510 WiFi Wireless Access Points. Albany FreeNet will operate on the 802.11 (b) and (g) radio spectrum. The Albany FreeNet installation will be one of the largest municipal installations of Cisco wireless access points on the East Coast using this state-of-the-art technology.
“We’re pleased that Tech Valley has chosen Cisco’s technology to provide this service to the City of Albany. The technology, coupled with TVC’s fiber optic network, allows for a highly secure and robust connection,” said Alan Cohen, senior director of mobility solutions at Cisco Systems. “The dynamic nature of Cisco’s Wi-Fi solutions creates an exciting opportunity to expand wireless services throughout the entire region.”
The coverage area for the initial installation of Albany FreeNet is the central business area of downtown Albany. A coverage map detailing the areas is attached.
“This is another step in reinvigorating our downtown area, making it easier to visit, live and do business here. What a great way to kick off the holiday season,” said Jennings.
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