A master plan that’s being developed for Baltimore city government is looking to lay out strategies surrounding municipal broadband in the city, officials told a City Council committee this week.
As the city seeks to improve capabilities that will allow for increased connectivity and improved city systems, it must also have a role in ensuring the infrastructure is there to support it, Baltimore City CIO Frank Johnsonsaid at a hearing on Wednesday night. The city contracted consulting firm CTC Technology and Energy, to look at how the city itself can play a role in providing internet service
“All of these things are critically dependent on a robust citywide network. If you’re following the national dialogue on this, it’s obvious that communities like ours cannot be solely dependent on industry to build, operate and manage that capability for us. We need to take much more control of our communications destiny if we want to achieve everything outlined in this plan,” Johnson said, referring to a separate, five-year tech transformation plan released by the Baltimore City Office of Information and Technology last year.
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
