Thanks to Ann Higgins for sending me the fun article on Brownsville Texas and their plans to go with WiMAX (BrownsvilleTexas, Gets the WiMAX).

Brownsville lans to unveil their WiMAX system this fall. The reasons they chose WiMax were security and stability. As the article points out, “Because WiMAX uses signals at licensed frequencies not open to the public, the city can count on its data moving quickly and privately without interference.”

The network is for municipal traffic, not the general public. It was (or is being) built by IBM. The article (in Government Technology magazine) does a nice job of talking about the specifics of the network, the funding, and the reasoning behind the decision. I think it’s interesting reading to anyone who might also be in a position to be investigating network options for their community.

You can learn even more about the project in Brownsville in the following articles:

IBM Gets $4 Million Wireless Contract From Brownsville Texas (Mar 2007) – from the IBM perspective and explains the choice of WiMAX

Gulf Coast town disaster proofs with backup data center (Mar 2007) – an interesting perspective on how the new network got started.

Brownsville Turns to IBM to Build Wireless Internet Service Provider Network Using WiMAX Technology (Mar 2007) – more from the city’s perspective and what they plan to do on the network