Municipal wi-fi gets tested in the 35W bridge collapse

Grants | Legacy Digitization | Topics | Politics | Special Collections | 35W Bridge Collapse |
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Cell phone communication near downtown Minneapolis jammed within moments of the bridge collapse. Rescuers and law enforcement officers sprang into action but needed street maps, ongoing traffic information and a way to monitor the site. The resulting communications demands put the city of Minneapolis' fledgling wireless network to the test. Within an hour of the disaster, the head of USI Wireless, the company responsible for the network, opened the system to free access and got an effort going to install additional access points around the bridge site that weren't already covered. The number of wireless users in that part of the city jumped six fold overnight. Future Tense's Art Hughes reports.

Funders

Digitization made possible by the State of Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, approved by voters in 2008.

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