Public-private effort wants state network
A public-private partnership is studying the feasibility of creating the country’s first statewide wireless broadband network in Rhode Island.
Members of the Business Innovation Factory, a group of innovators collaborating to explore and test better ways to attract and grow business which includes companies like Intel, IBM, American Power Conversion as well as the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation and Rhode Island Economic Policy Council, are behind the Rhode Island Wireless Innovation Networks (RI-WINs).
Later this month, the group will present results of a feasibility study funded by the group. According to the EDC, RI-WINs will leverage the state’s existing network infrastructure to offer full statewide coverage, integration of disparate broadband technologies and value-added application services that sit above the infrastructure.
“This will allow more services and more support to other business markets and models,” said Bob Panoff, principal of RPM, a North Attleboro-based IT consulting group, and program manager of RI-WINs.
Panoff, who is working pro-bono on the program, said, “It’s a network of networks. We’re focused on innovation. Our assumption is that this will be a multi-purpose shared network.”
By offering a unified, statewide platform for wireless services, RI-WINs will encourage business model innovation, stimulate economic development and become a focal point for innovative applications for companies in and outside Rhode Island, the partnership said. The network can also provide new markets for users and providers.
“I read about it over a year ago when the BIF and Innovation@Scale (two EDC initiatives) came about, and I immediately thought there was a direct correlation given the size and density of Rhode Island,” Panoff said. “It made a great deal of sense to try and build a wireless network.”
The feasibility study will assess existing statewide infrastructure; prioritize specific innovations to be leveraged; design a high level statewide business model; and conduct executive level interviews to identify possible partners and funding opportunities.
“I think what makes it possible for Rhode Island to be the first state to do this is the size of the state and innovation at scale being possible,” said Katherine O’Dea. She added that the state already has extensive networking. “We’re pretty well connected throughout the state.”
O’Dea said that while she hasn’t seen the numbers on whether a statewide network is financially feasible, “it’s more feasible here than anywhere else because of the scale.”
Existing infrastructure in Rhode Island’s IT sector includes the Tech Collective (formerly RITEC), the university community, the Slater Fund, the EDC, the technology work force (many of whom may commute to southeastern Massachusetts), a pool of experienced senior managers and executives and telecom and cable infrastructure.
“I think it’s feasible,” Panoff said. “It can’t all be done at once, and we need to define what statewide is, and there is the question of funding. (The program might be able to get federal grants or loans.) We also need to determine is it sustainable? Is there a critical mass of ongoing services and projects into the BIF that require wireless support?”
More than 40 companies and groups have been interviewed to gauge their interest in creating a wireless network, including private enterprise, groups in the public sector and educators, and the majority of the response has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic, Panoff said.
The next phase is network design specification and a pilot.
