San Diego – As part of his push to make the City of San Diego as innovative as the people it serves, Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer was joined by City Councilmember Chris Cate and Verizon executives today to announce a multi-million-dollar agreement that will accelerate the deployment of small-cell facilities to enhance wireless capacity and services.
The agreement also lays the groundwork for the future introduction of 5G next-generation technology that offers cutting-edge resources to enhance public safety and bolster San Diego’s economic competitiveness.
“San Diego is a city of innovation with a long history of using groundbreaking technologies to make our city and the world a better place,” Mayor Faulconer said. “Working together with Verizon, this agreement is going to provide resources that will further enhance cellular service for residents, keep communities safer and lower costs for taxpayers. It’s a win-win for San Diegans.”
The new agreement will create a more connected and mobile-friendly city with expanded small cell infrastructure and a streamlined permitting process designed to get these technologies into communities faster and more efficiently. The state-of-the-art digital innovation coming to San Diego as part of this agreement will increase services to the public and expand smart city capabilities, without any increase in cost to taxpayers.
“We are continuously improving our industry-leading 4G LTE network, densifying it through small cells to better serve San Diego residents, businesses, first responders, and visitors today while also being foundational to the future deployment of 5G network technology here, and we’re delighted to work closely with Mayor Faulconer and the City Council to make San Diego a leading connected city of the future,” said Ed Chan, Verizon’s Senior Vice President of Engineering. “Together, we’re creating a platform of innovation with the latest smart city technology, supporting the city’s focus on creating a digitally inclusive and connected city that benefits all residents and businesses for decades to come.”
As part of the agreement, the City and Verizon will work together to improve the city’s information technology infrastructure and public safety. Verizon will give 500 smartphones to the San Diego Police Department and 50 tablets to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department to improve department communication and connectivity. Verizon has also agreed to install advanced traffic data gathering and sensing technologies at five crash-prone intersections to help the City better assess vehicular patterns and traffic flow using data.
“San Diego is innovating, and we are accelerating. Ordinary is turning into extraordinary, and it’s happening each and every day,” Councilmember Cate said. “From smart streetlights on Mira Mesa Boulevard to Weather Based Irrigation Controllers in Clairemont, innovation is shaping how we are living and working in District 6. San Diego’s partnership with Verizon will not only benefit San Diegans today, it will help all future generations.”
“The San Diego Police Department is excited about our partnership with Verizon,” said Police Chief David Nisleit. “Using their cutting-edge technology will allow us to carry out our mission of maintaining public safety by providing the highest-quality police services to all of our communities.”
Verizon will also perform an inventory of roughly 60,000 city-owned light poles to update and digitize the City’s catalogue of light pole information and provide improved wireless capabilities to residents. Finally, Verizon will deploy fiber and small cells to city-owned light poles. Small cells are compact wireless equipment that extend network coverage and increase network capacity for users.
The City has agreed to work with Verizon to streamline its permitting processes to cut red tape, reduce review times and get these technologies installed faster. Under the terms of the agreement, the City will develop a master permit for the installation of digital fiber so that more users can get access to broadband capabilities. The agreement calls for more than $100 million in infrastructure investment and equipment deployment from Verizon.
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