Government Technology

KentuckyWired, a 3,000-mile state-owned fiber network project, is now providing high-speed Internet to its first site, which is the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) in Owenton (KY). Eventually, all state offices and institutions and other properties such as state parks will be connected to KentuckyWired. Deck Decker, interim director of the Kentucky Communications Network Authority, said these sites, once they connect, will have speeds that are five times faster than what they currently have. KentuckyWired’s construction is nearing completion.

The Metropolitan Information Exchange (MIX) is a close-knit association of CIOs from U.S. cities and counties with populations over 100,000. Gathering annually for over 51 years, members focus on sharing insights and cases from their own communities in order to build their collective knowledge and capabilities as leaders.

In recent weeks, members of the U.S. Congress have announced a number of broadband-related bills that aim to ensure that local communities have a better chance of delivering high-speed Internet to their residents. But would these acts, if passed, lead to meaningful results? Government Technology spoke to a number of leaders and experts about the implications of three particular pieces of legislation. Their differing opinions highlight the great complexity of the broadband issue.

A partnership between the telecommunications company and technology company NEC is looking at whether the fiber-optic networks coursing through cities can be used to glean real-world intelligence. Vehicle counts, traffic slow-downs and other pieces of data central to traffic management may one day be gleaned from a city’s fiber-optic communications network.