Verizon plans to improve public safety network throughout Newport Beach
A major investment in telecommunications infrastructure by Verizon Wireless in Newport Beach is expected to enhance emergency responders’ bandwidth capacity.
Verizon will install 32 small-cell wireless telecommunications devices around West Newport, the Balboa Peninsula, Corona del Mar State Beach and upper Newport Coast at no cost to the city.
The goals are to improve data coverage for devices like mobile computers and remote cameras and providing better-location information for cellular 911 callers.
Verizon will also install a 1 GB-per-second fiber optic data circuit to the Newport Beach Police Department’s headquarters to support field operations.
The Newport Beach City Council approved the agreement, over a 10-year term with two, five-year extensions, on Wednesday.
The police department already uses Verizon for its mobile networks, in-car and other remote computers and connected devices, including cameras. The fire department uses Verizon for tablets and mobile computers on board its trucks.
Between construction, installation and monthly access, the new circuit is worth about $639,000, according to a city staff report. The police department currently has a 10 Mb-per-second data line.
The 911 locator function will benefit all cellular users, whether or not they use Verizon, because federal rules require all providers to transmit emergency calls, regardless of whether the caller is a subscriber.
The devices will be installed on streetlights, with the city collecting no new lease revenues from Verizon. Cables will be inside small boxes or within the poles themselves.
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