The Town of Manchester, Connecticut has issued an RFI for a citywide wireless network. This is not an RFP. Below is the text of the RFI. Manchester has a city-owned fiber network that can be used as backhaul.

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“The Town of Manchester is investigating the application of national standards-based city-wide wireless networks to improve the cost-effective delivery of Manchester municipal services and to support the educational mission of the Manchester’s Board of education.”

“Four years ago the Town of Manchester posted to its Web site a research white paper on the possibilities for WiMAX networks in the city. This white paper is posted to:

http://www.townofmanchester.org/InfoSystems/Documents/WiMAXAnalysis.doc [1]

“The Town of Manchester has started to recognize that the availability of wireless data networking may come to play as significant an economic role for business and residents as the cellular phone network does today. We also understand there is the possibility of converged data and voice networking taking over this economic impact role over time. With this in mind the Town invites all interested parties in the market involved with or with plans for standards-based (IEEE802.16e WiMAX or UMTS LTE) wireless city networking to provide information on their offerings.”

“Interested parties may forward information on your offerings to Jack McCoy, Chief Information Officer jmccoy80 [at] ci.manchester.ct.us [2] until June 30, 2008.”