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Lexington's wireless Internet service to expandJan 05, 2010 (The Lexington Herald-Leader - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Wireless Internet service will be activated in underserved areas of Lexington by late summer. The expanded broadband network will provide Internet access to areas such as the East End and Cardinal Valley, and enhance public safety by giving police, fire and Fayette County sheriff's officers in the field immediate access to key databases. In making the announcement Tuesday, Mayor Jim Newberry said the expanded wireless service also "establishes another important link" connecting downtown and the University of Kentucky, "equivalent to the physical improvements being made on South Limestone." Service will cover four square miles of the central city, plus 27 linear miles along major roads, including North and South Broadway, and Tates Creek, Nicholasville and Versailles roads. "We hope this puts a digital footprint on Lexington," said Rama Dhuwaraha, the city's chief information officer. Police and fire will be able to receive information from the city's enhanced 911 system directly into computers in their cars, said Lexington police Cmdr. Alan Martin. "This could be information like physical descriptions, details about suspects and vehicles involved," he said. A $550,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and $1.1 million in state and federal public safety grants to the city and sheriff's office will be used to establish the network. Jorge Martinez, director of information systems for the Knight Foundation, said access to information "is a core community need, as essential as schools, streets and clean air." It was on that basis the foundation provided the grant, Martinez said. The foundation had funded other projects in the East End, including the Legacy Trail. The project will be jointly administered by a public-private partnership of the city, the state, UK, the Knight Foundation and the Blue Grass Community Foundation. Dhuwaraha said the city's wireless system will be merged with UK's, reducing maintenance costs. Activating wireless service to underserved areas is important in allowing people to search for jobs and receive information about education and health care, Martin said. Reach Beverly Fortune at (859) 231-3251 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 3251 To see more of the Lexington Herald-Leader, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.kentucky.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |