Pittsburgh, PA Mayor William Peduto has announced the city’s agreement with Crown Castle to provide the first unified fiber connectivity network for city facilities as part of the NetPGH initiative – a comprehensive, unified fiber internet connectivity network for city facilities.
In response to the expected rise in costs from institutional networks – and the Mayor’s goal for a resilient tool to connect city government and its residents – The Department of Innovation & Performance (I&P) sought requests for proposals (RFPs) in November 2020 for NetPGH. The 10-year contract with Crown Castle will cost approximately $10 million US. Crown Castle has also been working with the city to deploy 5G infrastructure.
All 131 city facilities -including EMS stations, fire stations, recreation centers, and critical public safety infrastructure – currently run on disparate institutional networks. Crown Castle will connect all city facilities to a unified, high-speed network in a bid to improve the delivery of core services to residents.
The plan will enable expansion of Rec2Tech – an initiative to transform the city’s recreation centers into coding and technology-based education learning labs for youth. The agreement will also advance the Smart Corridors initiative to improve traffic efficiency and prioritize the mobility of transit vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians. It will also allow for the future deployment of public Wi-Fi in city neighborhoods.
“The city’s agreement with Crown Castle will create a more resilient municipal government, enhance our ability to serve the public, and promote digital equity,” said Mayor Peduto. “I’d like to thank our Department of Innovation and Performance for their leadership on the NetPGH initiative.”