MIDDLETOWN – The Newport County Chamber of Commerce yesterday announced its full support for the Rhode Island Wireless Innovation Networks (RI-WINs) effort to create the first statewide broadband network.
Tomorrow, the Chamber will host an informational breakfast where RI-WINs project leaders will discuss their plans for building and operating the network and will show how it already is being used.
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The breakfast is free and open to the public. It will be held from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the Community College of Rhode Island’s Newport Campus. To reserve a seat, call 847-1608.
The RI-WINs network already is live in Newport and Providence, where its users include a port security project that is bringing live, mobile connectivity to agencies and emergency personnel on the Bay.
The project already has been endorsed by the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau; the R.I. Department of Health; The Rhode Island Foundation; Community College of Rhode Island, Johnson & Wales University and the Rhode Island School of Design; and companies including Hasbro, FM Global and United HealthCare of New England.
It was launched in 2005 by the nonprofit Business Innovation Factory (BIF). It aims to blanket Rhode Island with a secure, high-volume wireless network for business and government use. Its pilot network went live in June.
BIF last month estimated the project’s total cost at $28 million, including the first three years’ operating expenses. After year three, the nonprofit network is expected to be self-supporting.
The money is to come from private institutions, though RI-WINs is seeking a limited guarantee from the General Assembly that would reduce its financing expenses.
Additional information on RI-WINs is available by calling Melissa Withers at 278-9134 or visiting www.businessinnovationfactory.com/ri-wins.
