Albuquerque Mayor R.J. Berry and University of New Mexico President David J. Schmidly have announced a Memorandum of Agreement to fund, develop and manage broadband initiatives aimed at expanding the educational and economic opportunities for the community.
The initiative will allow the two entities to:
- Develop municipal and neighborhood broadband networks
- Share intellectual resources for better community services and mobile application development
- Create a more favorable economic climate through improved broadband access
Berry said this project will be helpful as the city continues discussion with private companies interested in relocating or expanding in Albuquerque. He said the city has worked hard to persuade companies involved in the post- production process for the film industry that the city has all the capabilities they need. Schmidly agreed, noting the agreement can add tremendous leverage to infrastructure development of the Rio Grande Corridor.
Schmidly also pointed out that this will aid in persuading UNM students, staff and faculty to use the Albuquerque bus system because one of the applications now under development is a Wi-Fi system that will allow bus riders to locate the position of their bus through their smart phones.
Media contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627; email: kwent2@unm.edu