Cox Communications has secured an agreement with the State of Arizona that allows any Arizona municipality to grant Cox a contract for Wi-Fi services without going through an RFP process.
In anticipation of the increased business that this could represent, Cox has designated MobilePro Corp. its preferred vendor to provide Wi-Fi and wireless broadband services in the state.
Cox and MobilePro are currently working together to provide municipal Wi-Fi networks in Tempe, Chandler, and Gilbert, Ariz. These contracts led to the blanket dispensation from the state government.
Cox said the arrangement with Arizona allows municipal governments in the state to quickly and effectively deploy wireless technologies, such as those required on short notice by the Department of Homeland Security.
The two companies are prepared to provide Wi-Fi networks in several network configurations, including mobile/nomadic Wi-Fi, point-to-point, and point-to-multipoint high-capacity wireless connections. Potential applications under the partnership include Internet and Intranet access for mobile government workers, video surveillance and streaming, Amber Alerts, location-based services and intelligent transportation systems.
MobilePro will provide wireless infrastructure for redundant connections with wireless service overlays in areas where Cox’s high fiber capacity infrastructure is not available or feasible.
Cox claims more than 2 million residential and business service subscribers in Arizona, the majority of them in the Phoenix area.