RI-WINs Meets the "Geeks"

From the outside, it could have been any group of young professionals gathered to hear a presentation at a hip downtown space. But once you went inside, you knew. These were geeks. Real geeks. And they were interested in the prospect of a border-to-border wireless network.

They had come to the right place. With the goal of helping "Rhode Island's digital innovators connect, collaborate, and ultimately make the City-State and its geeks info-technology leaders," Providence Geeks brings members of the state's information technology community each month to AS220, a downcity Providence arts haven. The June 21 geeks gathering was their first "town hall" style meeting, with three speakers presenting short talks on their involvement in and perspective on BIF's Rhode Island Wireless Innovation Networks (RI-WINs) project and then fielding questions from attendees.

WINs organizers also encouraged the Geeks to apply for the N-GEN wireless contest, which offers young innovators a chance to demonstrate a new application.

The RI-WINs panel included BIF board chair Donald Stanford, RI-WINs project manager Robert Panoff and Rhode Island Chief Information Officer Tracy Emerton Williams. Stanford and Panoff provided an introduction of the rationale, strategy and technology for the RI-WINs network before turning the mike over to Emerton Williams, who related why she and the state are interested in the project.

Emerton Williams emphasized that her goal is to use technology to provide the state's citizens with easier access to government leaders and services. In her prior position as Chief Information Officer of the state's court system, Emerton Williams was exposed to the demand for wireless internet access in Rhode Island's courthouses. Attorneys grew frustrated as they wasted billable hours sitting in courtrooms and hallways, unable to communicate with their offices. Social workers from the Department of Children, Youth and Families were forced to be out of touch with clients in volatile and potentially threatening situations while they waited to testify in court. Unfortunately, the old age of many of the state's court buildings makes it impossible to install wired Internet connections.

Williams also shared her prior experience of working to provide Internet access to children in Boston's schools, with a goal of at least one computer for every four schoolchildren. $75 million into the $100 million initiative, the project's leaders found that they were well on the way to having all of the schools wired. But, that was all. Three-quarters of the budget and several years into a massive public works project, and no additional children in Boston had Internet access through their schools. In both cases, citizens (and private sector participants) would have benefited greatly from the existence of a large wireless broadband network.

Interestingly, when the floor was opened to the Geeks, most of the questions that followed weren't about RI-WINs technology, but instead focused on the project's business model and potential network applications. Of all people, the Geeks knew that the technology is there to make Rhode Island the first state with a border-to-border mobile broadband network. What really got the conversation going was the discussion about applications across the public and private sector.

One Geek asked about a potential application (and, perhaps, a new business concept): is anyone developing an adapter that would allow serial devices to connect to the WiMax technology that powers the RI-WINs network? What if already-developed serial devices could be linked up to RI-WINs, allowing scientists to measure the changing dynamics of all areas of Narragansett Bay, all the time?

Charlie Jefferson of Providence-based video production company TangoPix, was intrigued by one of Emerton Williams' ideas for private applications: filming a movie in the state digitally and sending footage to the studio in real time through the RI-WINs network. "There are so many new business concepts that could come out of this," Jefferson noted. "I can't wait to get back to the office and throw around some ideas."

RELATED LINKS:
For more visit the Providence Geeks RI-WINs Town Hall Re-cap I and Re-cap II and
Glenn Fleischman's WNN Wi-Fi Municipal Round-up

Matt Guilford
June 25, 2006

Posted June 25, 2006 11:24 AM by Matthew Guilford | Permalink