San Francisco Board of Supervisors Launches Free Wireless Internet Access in City Hall
Clerk of the Board, Board President and Department of Technology announce pilot program
San Francisco, CA June 23, 2009 – The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today announced the introduction of a new service that provides free wireless Internet connectivity in the City Hall Legislative Chamber, Committee Room and Supervisors’ offices. The Board and Department of Technology (DT) in collaboration with San Francisco’s Potrero Hill based Meraki, have launched a pilot public access initiative that will start June 23, 2009 and continue through June 2010.
“I am thrilled we are taking the lead to provide free internet access at City Hall,” said David Chiu, President of the Board of Supervisors, who had initially requested that the Board Clerk examine the use of Wi-Fi in the Board Chambers. “I only hope this will encourage more city facilities to do the same and bring city government into the 21st century.”
“The Board of Supervisor Chambers and offices was a natural place to expand our wireless technology,” says San Francisco CIO Chris Vein. “This will be a valuable asset for those who use City Hall to conduct business and I would like to thank the Clerk of the Board and Meraki for partnering with us to make this pilot happen.”
“The Board of Supervisors network features high performance 802.11n access points and the industry’s first cloud-based controller,” said Sanjit Biswas, CEO of Meraki. “As a result, the network is incredibly easy for the City to manage and provides the public the best and most reliable wireless Internet experience possible.”
For the past several years, the Department of Technology has brought free Wi-Fi to over 3500 low-income families throughout San Francisco. The Department was able to leverage their partnerships to expand this service to City Hall.
The benefits of hotspots will allow constituents to participate, report and access information wherever they are. The pilot will be an added incentive for the public to be involved in the legislative process. The BOSWiFi network is compatible with all Wi-Fi enabled devices, including laptops, PC handhelds, and PDAs and other suitable portable device to access the wireless connection.
About the Board
The Board of Supervisors is the legislative branch of the City and County of San Francisco. The Board consists of 11 members. Each member is elected on a non-partisan basis from a district where he or she lives. The Board of Supervisors regular meetings are held at 2:00 p.m., on Tuesdays of each week.
About Meraki
Meraki offers enterprise-class wireless networks at a fraction of the cost and complexity of traditional networking vendors. This is made possible by its unique cloud-based technology. The company’s customers range from small and medium-sized businesses to global hotel chains to world-class educational institutions. Meraki wireless networks serve millions of users on over 10,000 networks in more than 130 countries. Meraki is located in San Francisco, California, and is funded in part by Sequoia Capital and Google. For more information, go to www.meraki.com. For information on becoming a Meraki certified reseller, go to www.meraki.com/partners.
Liz Haas
Atomic Public Relations
415-402-0230
liz@atomicpr.com
