Location(s)
Nevada, MO (pronounced Ne-vay-duh) wanted broadband access for its residents, but providers wouldn’t build it. So, in 2003, the city, with the help of WISP NeighborLink Wireless, built its own citywide wireless network. The network cost $20,000 to build, and is used by residents, police, and other local officials. About a year later, SBC (now AT&T) began offering traditional broadband service. This significantly cut into sales, but the network remains popular enough to be economically viable. Nevada is currently retooling the network to make it easier for small businesses in town to resell the service.
The city sees the wireless network as a way to enhance local economic development, and the project follows on the city’s 1997 telecenter project, which had similar goals. The Nevada TeleCenter houses two interactive video classrooms for 25 students each; a satellite downlinked classroom for 50 participants; a multimedia production room equipped to produce educational and training materials; and five computer work stations for free public access to the Internet.
Learn More:
Rural Town Creates Unique Solution for Technology Problem. City of Nevada, 2006. http://www.nevadamo.org/pages/press/neighborlink.htm
NeighborLink Wireless (recently acquired by Inetvisions)
http://www.inetvisions.net/
Nevada, Missouri - Nevada Telecommunity. Smart Communities Profiles. Industry Canada, December 1999.
http://198.103.246.211/profiles/nevada_e.asp
